


Fate/False Void

by SomeBoredGuy



Category: Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Holy Grail War (Fate), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:01:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22210720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeBoredGuy/pseuds/SomeBoredGuy
Summary: Set in the final days of 2018, a Holy Grail War is supposedly taking place in the fictional city of Fujisawa. However, as the days go by, it becomes clear that this war might be hiding something far more sinister....As forces far beyond the scope of imagination manipulate events in the shadows, the curtains rise to one of the grandest of forgeries.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So it begins. The story I hope no one will ever read. A story that came to mind because I had too much free time. This story will certainly at times, contradict nasuverse lore. 
> 
> But who cares?
> 
> And the future me will certainly roll his eyes when reading this to which I say, "You chose to post this! Deal with it!!"

**December 29, 2018**  
**08:34:23 PM**

The shadowy figure raced through the rooftops of the buildings of Fujisawa, completely unnoticed by the people down below. Usually the atmosphere would be far more celebratory as a new year is just around the corner. And yet, a sense of silence and uneasiness had taken over the whole city. 

The figure however did not pay attention to such things. He knew the incident two days ago was the cause and so, he focused solely on his mission at hand.

What little amount of reason and sanity the people had left would probably evaporate by tonight anyway.

_The situation has slowly gotten out of control. If we don't take the proper steps soon it'll be all over for us_. His 'master' had told him. And so he was given a special assignment.

The figure finally landed on top of a certain building, his appearance still shrouded in darkness. The moon tonight was covered in clouds which in turn made the city even more sinister and eerie. He made a quick scan of the surrounding area to make sure it was deserted. There were hardly any people in this part of the city, only a few street lights illuminating the area below. The parts it did not illuminate could be compared to the abyss itself, as if it would snatch and take away anyone to some unknown depths if they got too close.

When the man confirmed the area was empty, he made his way to one edge of the building before crouching down. He had chosen this specific building because it was twenty-five floors tall, the tallest in the area in fact. Which allowed it to be the perfect position to overlook almost the entire city. Moreover, his mission needed to be completed from afar.

“It's time.” The man muttered before doing something unbelievable.

He materialised a weapon, seemingly out of thin air. 

It was a long barrelled customized sniper rifle, one that was capable of hitting it's target four kilometers away. One that the figure had used all his life when he was alive.

That is correct.

The man at present was neither alive nor an ordinary human.

He certainly was a human who lived once upon a time, and died just as quickly. But at present, he could not be called a human.

After all, no ordinary human could leap through buildings tens of feets apart without losing breath.

And yet the man had done that effortlessly to reach here.

Of course, it suffices to say no ordinary human could materialise things out of thin air.…with a few exceptions.

But he was, at present, not among that group.

No, the man was not ordinary, because he had been 'summoned' to this city four days ago to fulfill missions for his 'master', whatever they may be.

_"Master, I'm in position."_

The man's mouth did not move. His master was also not anywhere near him. The two were communicating through telepathy. This is how they have had always communicated. The master having met the man only once, when he was summoned.

_"Very good Assassin. It seems those two are near the pier. I can see Saber's master through one of the familiars. Heh, seems she's not as bright as I thought, standing so close to a battle."_ The voice chuckled a bit before continuing. _"Saber and Lancer are busy fighting so they shouldn't notice our interference. The girl is just a few meters behind them. Don't let me down."_

And then the voice was gone.

The man known as 'Assassin' brought the rifle's scope to his eyes as he looked towards the pier's direction. He heard it had been abandoned long ago, the perfect battleground without any witnesses.

Between the pier and the building he was in stood the sea. Roughly four kilometers away from the pier, he would have to quickly retreat once he was done with his mission. And the sea would greatly restrict his persuers from taking a direct approach. 

Another reason he had chosen this building. 

He saw the sparks flying through his scope as well as the two blurs who were causing them. 

A huge burst of golden flame erupted among the figures which seemed to be devoured by blue flames just as quickly. Suddenly the two blurs stopped fighting and moved back several paces, away from each other. Despite being abandoned, the pier seemed to be well illuminated. 

Assassin could now see the blurs as two proper figures.

The figure on the left seemed to have suffered almost zero damage. He appeared to be a man in his mid twenties, possessing white hair as well as radiant white skin. He stood confidently with an air of dignity and calm, his weapon, which was a staff like golden spear, was loosely gripped on his right hand, it occasionally letting out tiny sparks of fire. The man also seemed to have been clothed in golden armaments and burnt black armour. Two additional gold armaments seemed to hover on top of his shoulders. Assassin deduced him to be 'Lancer'.

_Seems Lancer posseses a special type of armour which nullifies physical attacks. A noble phantasm perhaps? Fairly skilled with the spear as well._ He made a mental note to himself.

He then set his sights on the figure on the right which was supposed to be 'Saber'.

"…!?"

A sudden chill ran up his spine, as soon as he laid eyes on 'it'. 

Death.

The black mist like substance seemed to hover above the ground. Upon closer inspection, Assassin noticed it was a dark robe which was as black as the shadow it cast. The robe adorned by a figure of large build, their age could not be distinguished, their gender could not be distinguished. Assassin was not even sure if what he saw had once even been human. Wielding a large greatsword, the figure stared straight at Lancer. It's face was covered by a white skull mask, it's eyes flashing a shade of blue which might as well be the flames of hell. The ground it stood on seemed to be slowly crumbling from rot. 'It' apparently spreading decay from simply existing. If one would see that figure before them, only one word would come to mind.

**Death**.

The thing known as Saber also didn't appear to be wounded. It said something to Lancer, who in turn, replied back. Both of the warrior's weapons were lowered at the ground at the moment. But Assassin knew it would take less than two seconds to bring it to the other's neck.

_…It seems master was right after all. Unless steps are taken it'll be over…for us all._

He moved his scope rightward, away from the two.

He saw the young girl master was talking about. Her age was no more than eighteen. Her crimson eyes were fixated on the two figures in front of her while her short, black hair gently blew with the breeze. Her mouth was half open, as if unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before her. She wore a white fur coat, along with a scarf of the same colour. Assassin moved his scope to focus on the girl's left hand. It had a glove on. He could not see the girl's right hand but assumed it would be a similar case.

He then moved his scope leftward.

Away from the girl, away from the skull masked Saber and even away from the dignified Lancer. He moved his scope to the left until he spotted a two storey building.

It was probably be some sort of office area when the pier was still active. However, now it appeared to be abandoned. With moss covering a part of the wall.

"…"

He focused on one of the second floor windows which appeared to be broken.

Through it he could see some bits of furniture, now covered in dust. The room was covered in darkness as it always had been.

Assassin waited.

When he was alive he had killed all sorts of people. Men, women, old or young it didn't matter. Every single one of them had different habits, rules, motivations and dreams. 

And yet he killed them all if that was his mission. As a result, he gained the knowledge of how to hunt that specific group, wherever they may hide.

He may have become a cog in a machine, but he never forgot his dream. Every people he killed for that dream had two things in common. 

The first was that every single one of his targets were evil. Each one of them could be categorised as a 'murderer', while some had done much crueler things. And so, every single one of them was killed without hesitation. 

The second similarity was-

He saw it.

Inside the room, just for a second…..it appeared and then vanished.

A small spatial distortion. It was so miniscule that under normal circumstances it would go unnoticed by even the most veteran of 'hunters'. 

Assassin put his finger on the trigger. Once he was done with his mission he would have to report everything he saw tonight to his master.

He recalled everything that had led to this moment. 

_With this shot, it will begin._

_The beginning of the end._

* * *

_This is certainly not a tale which sprouts ideologies, nor is it about the clash of good and evil. Rather, the curtains have risen to a tale which is about people._

_The times they laugh, the times they cry, their journey of unimaginable struggle, their thorny road to endure. And at the end of their destination their ultimate demise._

_Those whose times are cut short, those who reach the light at the end of the tunnel only to have it snuffed out, those who never even see the light at all. The lowest point a creature known as **human being** can reach..._

_This is a tale that observes the **life** of such people._

_But...._

_Will that tale give birth to a comedy or a tragedy?_

_It may have begun a long time ago without anyone noticing, but let us begin the tale by rewinding the clock to December 23._


	2. Rider

**December 23, 2018**  
**10:12:14 AM**

"The Holy Grail War?"

Elson Brewer let out a sigh as soon as he heard the question and started massaging his temples. The four hour long journey was starting to take it's toll. He was supposed to be asleep in his mansion without a care in the world until noon today, and yet a single phone call telling him to come to a certain place to meet someone had changed all that. 

Of course, Elson under normal circumstances, would simply tell the caller to fuck off. However the caller had told him that someone had strongly advised that accepting the invitation would be the best course of action. The advice itself apparently coming from one of the most reputable mages in the history of magecraft that few ever had the chance of meeting.

Kaleidoscope.

And so, without an option to refuse and perhaps slightly curious, he begrudgingly came to the aforementioned place.

The Clock Tower of London, the headquarters of the Mage Association and one of the most sophisticated destination for anyone striving to reach the root. 

A place for both academic and research purposes, it had also been the place to discuss topics which changed the course of history of the entire world, several times at that. Which is why the place was also under a veil of secrecy. Completely isolated from the regular world. Only families whose lineage consisted of mages were given the privilege of studying in this place.

"You're basically asking if I've heard of the internet. In an era where social discussion sites, forum boards on a plethora of sectors number around the hundreds of thousands, you would be hard pressed to not know about it." Elson gave his reply.

Indeed, over the last few years gossips about magecraft had been steadily rising. While such discussion would be easily dismissed in the past, a number of anonymous individuals were leaking info about such things in message boards and social networking sites with photographs and videos. This resulted in the information to spread even further. The clock tower, while expert at containing information through memory altering spells and other less painless methods, was certainly not equipped to handle the situation of such a large scale. And since the higher ups still hadn't figured out the identity of the group responsible, they could do nothing but minimize the spread.

"You still haven't answered my question Mr. Brewer. While I have heard of your accomplishments as a mage, I'd still be very much grateful if you would properly give me a reply." The man Elson had retorted to maintained a trained smile as he replied, now picking up a teacup from the table between them. It also contained a kettle and another teacup for Elson. 

Elson had always been more of a coffee person. One of the many habits he picked up from his late father. He heard a story that everytime someone would serve him tea, he simply splashed it on their faces and said "I'll have coffee instead thank you." 

Needless to say, his father was not the most well received mage. Of course, the old bastard did not care much for his reputation until his last breath.

While Elson was not that extreme(not yet anyway), he certainly preferred coffee more. Although the aroma of the tea this time was good enough to tempt him to try it.

"I'll have to make a report on our conversation and send it to my superior, you see. We are on the same side, so no need to be so hostile."

"And who _is_ your superior?"

"They want their names to remain anonymous. So I hope you won't mind thinking of me as your client."

 _Yeah well I don't know your name either._ Elson thought to himself as he observed the man in front of him.

He was not more than fifty. His black hair neatly combed, his steady hands holding a teacup containing….well tea. Even his fingernails seemed to be evenly clipped. He seemed to be wearing what Elson guessed to be the most expensive black suit and pants in England which did not contain a speck of dust. And most important of all, he had the air of mystery surrounding him. Not like the noble mage families residing here…. something more….sinister. To top it all off, he had a handsome face and when combined with that masked smile, it made Elson just want to punch it.

Compared to the air of dignity the mysterious interviewer held, Elson's appearance felt more like he came wearing his bed attire.

The thirty three year old mage had messy, brown hair. Wearing a white shirt with wavy patterns and a brown leather jacket on top of that, brown pants to go with them, one would assume him to be a collage teacher than a successful mage investigator.

"So let me ask again. Mr. Brewer, do you know what the Holy Grail War is?"

Elson simply sighed before taking off his glasses to wipe the fog off. _One of the problems of being a glasses guy._ He replied in a bored, monotonous voice.

"Yes…yes I do."

For a mage, the Holy Grail War was grade school knowledge. If you did not know what it was, you not only lived under a rock but already died in there.

"And care to explain what it is?"

"…Not particularly, no."

"…"

"…"

"Would you kindly explain what it is?"

Elson audibly groaned as he picked up his cup before carefully taking a sip. The tea was delicious, without a doubt some of the best he drank. And then he started his explanation.

"The Holy Grail War is described to be a ritual where seven participants, dubbed **'Masters'** fight to the death until only one remains. Each master uses a catalyst to summon a heroic spirit of the past. These heroes are granted vessels created by the grail, with their strengths coming from the stories, myths and legends they left behind. These heroes are dubbed **'Servants'**. No one truly knows what qualifications are needed to be a servant. There are cases where even fictional characters have been summoned as a heroic spirit. But usually, only those whose fictional existence have braved the test of time….or those who truly existed are summoned. Seven masters and seven servants….and only one winner."

"And what prize does the winner get?"

"The Holy Grail. The device which is supposed to grant it's owner any wish. Pretty stupid if you ask me."

The man kept a neutral smiling face as he brushed off the last remark.

"And are there any way to differentiate between these 'servants' that you speak off?"

 _God I wanna punch something right now._ Elson was slowly losing patience. The questions the man was asking were pointless. _He already knows the answers to these._

He replied regardless.

"Yes. These servants are categorised into seven classes."

First, there were the three knight classes.

_Saber - The knight of the sword_

_Archer - The knight of the bow_

_Lancer - The knight of the spear_

The remaining four were called the cavalry classes. 

_Rider - The mounted warrior_

_Caster - The sage_

_Assassin - The warrior of shadows_

_Berserker - The eternal mad warrior_

"Usually in a typical Holy Grail War, only one servant of each class is summoned. However there are exceptions."

"Oh?" The man showed interest when he heard this.

Elson briefly explained the events of how a false Holy Grail War was held in Romania which was called the Greater Holy Grail War. Two opposing factions had produced seven masters each and so the number of servants were fourteen instead of seven. The Grail itself also seemed to have summoned a special class servant called 'Ruler'. 

_Too bad I don't have the full report on how that war went._ Elson remembered the havoc it caused when the news reached the Clock Tower. He had also gotten a notice to join one of the factions and participate on behalf of the Mage's Association but he turned it down due to being busy with another case at the time.

"Hmm…so this has happened before…" The man muttered to himself, apparently lost in thought.

_Hm...? Before?_

"So it happened again?" Elson asked as he put down the cup. He heard something which finally seemed to point him somewhere.

"I beg your pardon?" The man asked, broken from his train of thought.

"You said 'So this has happened before' and considering you didn't know of the Greater Holy Grail War, I'd say you know of another incident which is similar to it. Now I don't pride myself in keeping up with the Clock Tower's rumours but I'd hear about it if another such an event took place." Elson paused, finally connecting the dots as to why he was called.

"So….since the event hasn't occurred, the only possibility left is that-"

"It will happen, yes." The man chimed in, seemingly impressed. "And very soon I'm afraid."

"And you want me to look into it?"

"Something like that. But first let me set the groundwork." The man now also set down his teacup, as if signalling the crux of the matter was finally here.

"Are you aware of a city called Fujisawa in Japan?" He asked Elson, who, after thinking about a few seconds replied.

"Yeah. Overall a small city, but then again it's life has only been about three years."

"Yes. And now before I say anything more, I'd like to hear your opinion on it."

"On what?"

"Fujisawa. What do you think about the city?"

Elson was slightly thrown off guard about that question. He had visited Japan only once, when he was in his early twenties.

_What am I supposed to even say about a city that I never even visited? It's even younger than me._

"Uh…well I've never been there before but from what I've heard uh…I guess it's nice?"

The man seemed to sigh in disappointment as he heard the answer.

"Nothing striked you as odd?"

Elson leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms. Closing his eyes, he went back to the time he read the article on how a new city was being built in Japan. He tried to remember it's location.

"Ah!"

"I see you figured it out Mr. Brewer." The man let out chuckle as he saw the young mage figure out the answer. Elson simply nodded before answering.

"It's isolated."

"Precisely. The sea covering one side while a large barren wasteland covering the others. No other city is located close to it. The only way to reach it is through a rather long car ride.The official word is that the city will be expanded over the empty lands as more time passes and more people start living there. However, we received solid intel that a barrier had been set up around the entire city. It seems to be a hypnotic suggestion type barrier, a pretty strong one. As a result, those without magical energy can't enter or leave the place."

"A prison."

"Exactly. And while investigating how such a strong barrier was created that covered an entire city, a few rumours made their way to my employer. About how the Holy Grail War was about to take place there."

"Wait so you're saying someone or some organisation picked that city for the Holy Grail War because it's isolated?"

The man's smile was no longer in his face. He slowly leaned forward before answering.

"No Mr. Brewer. I'm saying someone or some organisation created the city of Fujisawa to hold a false Holy Grail War in it."

Elson was speechless. _Building a city just for a Grail War?! It would require tremendous influence to make it a reality._

The man, as if reading Elson's mind said, "My employer also believes the person or group responsible is receiving aid from government officials. However we aren't sure exactly how much influence they possess."

Hearing that, Elson suddenly remembered something else.

"Wait but then the people in the city-"

"Are not puppets or anything of the sort I'm afraid. They are very much human….all hundred thousand of them."

"…So they're simply collateral damage? And the government is turning a blind eye?"

"That appears to be the case, yes. A by product of creating the city. They're using the people to keep the cover of a normal life I guess. My theory is that the ones responsible don't actually care much for those people's lives."

 _hundred thousand…._ Elson felt nauseated. He was getting a picture of what he was getting himself into. After being silent for almost a minute he asked the question that was nagging at him.

"Do they actually have the Grail though? I mean the original Grail in Fuyuki was disassembled, and the greater Grail disappeared as far as the rumours go."

"Which is exactly why my employer asked for your help. People have begun moving within the city Mr. Brewer. Join the Holy Grail War as a master and investigate it. Find the person or organisation responsible for it. Find out how they created this false Grail War. My employer isn't concerned about whether you win it or not."

 _Oh I guess that makes it so much easier….NOT._

"Oh and one last thing."

Elson looked at the man who seemed to have his punchable smiling face back.

"If you find any research papers related to this false Grail should it exist, recover them. My employer will add a bonus to your fee if you do."

 _Of course they will._ Elson couldn't help but let out a bitter smile when he heard that. This employer's goal wasn't to find the culprit responsible for the war. 

_They just want the papers to see how a false Grail was created._

It seems hundred thousand lives were nothing to a mage as long as they reached the root. The center of all the knowledge and truth of the world.

 _And I'm one of these so called 'mages'…_

"I'll see what I can do." Elson stood up and headed for the door. He had gotten a case. It was time for work.

"Good luck Mr. Brewer. Oh and if you require anything from me, simply dial the number on the card I've given you."

 _Yeah well, I still don't know your name._

"I'll keep that in mind Vanessa." Elson replied as he left the room.

* * *

**11:13:02 AM**

As soon as Elson stepped out into the street, the winter breeze once again gripped him. Even though he dressed up warm for the occasion, it seems nature was ready to be as annoying as ever. He looked around. Despite the cold, people were still flooding the London streets. With Christmas right around the corner, they were too busy with decorations to pay attention to the cold.

 _I could've been asleep today._ Elson grumbled as he continued walking. He thought back to his conversation with the mysterious man.

Creating a city just to host a Holy Grail War seemed like an absurd idea at first. But if one thought about it, it also made sense. Whoever the government officials were working with had an entire city's assets at their disposal. 

_I'll basically be walking into a maze with no sense of direction whereas they'll have the ability to observe all the other masters from a bird's eye view._ Elson wasn't too happy with the odds. Information meant winning half the battle and he would be at a significant disadvantage before it even began.

"Spare a coin for the homeless, sir?"

His thoughts broken, Elson looked to his left where the voice had come from. A man in his late fifties sat hugging against the wall. He wore a worn out hooded jacket and jeans which was torn at certain places. He had outstretched his right hand towards him, while his left hand held a cane. His hoodie covered his face, though Elson could spot some grey strands of hair coming through.

"Ah mr. Tenner! I was planning to meet up with you soon. You've saved me the time." Elson said to the old man as he grabbed the outstretched hand and pulled him up to his feet, his face smiling.

"Yes well, word on the street was that you weren't rotting in your house but instead here in London so I thought you might need my help." The old man replied with a grin as he pulled back his hoodie. Even nearing his sixties, he looked as refreshed as ever. If one saw his green eyes, short gray hair and clean shaven face would they would never have thought him to be a homeless person. In truth, he was just that. A drifter who had a large connection of people working for him, for free. His contribution of the past and humbleness earned him that much.

"Well you thought right."

"Another case?" 

"Yep."

"Say no more! We will continue once we hit reach the usual pub."

And so after ten minutes of walking, casual banter and finding an empty bar, two minutes of ordering beer and another three minutes of waiting, the two finally had beer in hand and ready to discuss matters.

"So what's the case this time?" The man named Tenner asked as he gulped down his drink.

"Well…I'll have to participate in a Holy Grail War it seems."

Tenner choked. "Another one?" He coughed and wiped his mouth as he asked.

"Well to be fair this will the first time. I didn't actually participate when I got the offer last time."

"Do you really think you're strong enough to win the Grail Mr. Brewer?"

"They asked me to simply investigate it, not win it. Besides I think the Holy Grail War is pretty stupid anyway. Bunch of people killing each other for a wish? Nonsense."

Tenner laughed hearing this. 

"Don't let the other mages hear you say that. While we don't have the mindset and cruelty a mage must possess, you have to admit a device that grants any wish is certainly tempting."

"Not when you have to sacrifice so much to achieve it. Besides, this one might be a forgery."

"Oh? I assume you've been told to investigate this forgery?"

"Pretty much."

Elson told Tenner about his conversation in the Clock Tower. How the city of Fujisawa was constructed for only a Grail War, about how the government might be helping whoever was responsible.

"My my, this certainly is on another scale if what that man said is true. I'm surprised he didn't contact that fellow with the long hair. What was his name again? ….El Melloi? He would be a better choice no?"

"I'm glad your faith in me is still the same as ever."

The old man let out a laugh. 

"So? How do I help this time?" 

"I'm gonna need a catalyst. Within today if possible."

"Hmm…that's gonna be difficult boy. While I may know some people who could provide a few items to your liking, I'm not sure if they can find and send what you need within today."

"Tell them I'll pay a bit more than the usual. Hopefully that motivates them to look harder."

"Hm…alright."

After that exchange the two finished the rest of their drinks in silence as Elson planned what luggage he would take. Once they were done he stood up, attempting to leave. However, Tenner did not move from his seat.

"…What's wrong old man?"

Tenner did not reply. Instead he simply held onto his empty glass.

"Geez…one glass gets you to the point you can't speak now? Gimme a call when you've got the item."

"Elson…"

He stopped. The voice coming from Tenner was not the usual cheerful one he was accustomed to. It sounded tired, and on the verge of crying. He turned around to see the old man looking at him.

"Can you….not take this case?"

Elson was at a loss for words. The old man had broken down like this only once before. Back when he took a case to clear Tenner's name three years ago. A once renowned name in the world of magecraft, and yet the loss of a son had broken him beyond words.

"I'm sorry but I can't. 'If you accept a job, see it through to the end regardless of the result.' Your words, sensei."

The old teacher wiped the tears that formed in his eyes.

"I don't think...I'll be able to handle the loss of another student…" He sobbed, "Certainly not one who has taken the spot of my late son."

"..."

Elson hesitated for a moment. He knew why the old man was worried. They both had heard the rumours of how a Holy Grail War went for a master. If you were on the losing side, dying painlessly was a blessing while coming back alive was a miracle. He knew there was a chance he would not come back from this alive. As someone who never married, and who lost both his parents, he realised that if he died, very few would mourn for him. The old man one of them. His once wise and proud teacher, who had, to Elson, taken the place of his late father.

Which is why he knew the words he was going to say would break the old man's heart, but Elson needed him to be strong. This weakness did not suit him. So Elson steeled his own heart before saying what he needed to.

"Get yourself together Mr. Tenner! I'm not your son, I never will be. He is gone and we'll have to simply live with that fact. While the Holy Grail War doesn't have the best statistics when it comes to survival, I've been in far more dangerous cases! You should know, considering you helped me in some of them!"

Elson was grateful the bar was empty while he was shouting, because he would have died of embarrassment otherwise. Thankfully, the bartender also seemed to be paying no attention to his two idiot customers whatsoever. _As long as they don't burn the place down, let them shout. It's empty at this time anyway._

Tenner kept silent as he stared at his empty glass. After what felt like an eternity, he rubbed his eyes and stood up without saying a word. He gave Elson a small nod.

"Let's get out of here."

Back outside, the old man flashed an embarrassed smile.

"Well let's just forget what happened in there."

"Hm? What happened in there?"

"Ha ha ha! Absolutely nothing my boy."

After a while Tenner continued.

"Thank you Elson. Truly."

Now it was Elson's time to be embarrassed. "You can thank me by getting my item sooner." He muttered while scratching his head.

"Of course Mr. Brewer. I'll try to get what you need within today."

Elson brought out his wallet.

"Fee is the usual ten pounds?"

"Of course."

"You could charge me a thousand times that you know."

"Of course I could. But then my nickname of 'Tenner' would lose its value don't you think?" The old man gave a playful wink as he said it, his usual cheerfulness returning. "Moreover, your bank balance would also plummet considering how much I help you, no?"

Elson could not help but chuckle as he looked at the mage who forsook his real name and answered both of those questions with a single reply.

"Yes…yes it would."


	3. Berserker

**December 23, 2018**  
**11:57:07 PM**

"It is time."

Reila Eredith muttered as she finished drawing the summoning circle. The people behind her started to excitedly whisper between themselves. As she stood up to address them however, they felt silent.

They were nine in total. Men and women of different ages, from different mage families. All of them were struggling in the world of magecraft in various ways, from being disowned by their families for having weak magical circuits to simply not possessing the genius mind required to reach the root. 

Reila herself was such a person. Being one of the last mages of the declining Eredith bloodline, this was her last chance at making things right. 

Even after living some twenty-three odd years, Reila could never say that she enjoyed a normal childhood. As soon as she was born in the house of a mage, her fate was sealed. The fact that the family she came from had failed to produce proper mages for two generations did nothing to improve the situation. And so, the girl had to carry burdens too great for her shoulders from childhood.

But no matter how hard she tried, she could not achieve greatness. And as a result, she was punished for it.

_Why can't you do even the most basic of incantations?_

_Is this how you repay the family that raised you?_

_Why can't you be like the other great mages?!_

Questions like these haunted her no matter what she accomplished. And eventually she discovered the reason.

Talent.

Yes, that was the sole cause. Because she was not born with talent. No matter how hard she tried, whatever her accomplishments were, there would always be a gap between her and those who were regarded as 'great'. She would never reach the root without this 'talent'.

 _The world was truly unfair._

The cold reality set in for her as she slowly started to accept her cruel fate. She would die without ever making a mark on the world. And as a result, her family's name would fade away from the world of magecraft.

…But then she heard rumours. Rumours that slowly gained traction the more she looked into it. 

A Holy Grail War was to be held at a city in Japan. 

She saw her second chance. A chance to reach the root. But she also knew she would never survive it with her abilities. 

_A mage's pride is to never ask others for help. But I discarded mine long ago._

And Reila praised herself for doing that. She found out the hard way that unwarranted pride can also get in the way of success. So She had gathered eight others who were in the same desperate place she was in. And the nine mages from different families gathered all their resources together with one goal in mind. For months, They prepared all they could before setting foot in Fujisawa. And yesterday, after thorough discussion, they had vowed that they would help Reila in any way possible to win the Holy Grail. In return, she would ask for a wish from the Grail that would benefit all nine of them. In addition, these nine would in no way bring harm to the other eight, nor use any other means to sabotage them. They did this by signing a geas scroll, a magical contract with the conditions above. 

The conditions written in a geas scroll were absolute, and not even death could break the spell of those who were bound to it. With this, they had entered a sort of blood bond, and accepted each other as equals.

They had found an abandoned church at the northern edge of the city, surrounded by forests. They scanned the area for magical traps or familiars until they knew it was safe. Afterwards, they deployed their own warding spells and familiars all around the place. No one would be able to come here without letting their presence known. While looking like an ordinary church, it was now a fortress.

It was now inside this church that they were going to summon a servant to participate in the Holy Grail War.

"My comrades." Reila said, "A few months ago I gathered all of you together for one goal. To achieve the Holy Grail. It is said that in the world of magecraft, a mage lives and dies alone. That one must reach the root with their own potential."

She paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Then what about the rest?"

No one replied.

"Are we simply the weed expected to be thrown out, even though we worked hard? Just because we don't have the talent?"

The other eight mages in that room silently listened to every single word Reila spoke. They were words coming out from her own heart. 

"No. It is simply unfair for such a world to exist. Which is why we will win the Holy Grail War and show the world of magecraft that talent isn't everything. And the path to our victory starts here."

She turned back to the summoning circle she had drawn earlier. 

The catalyst they had prepared for the summoning ritual was a rusty old katana, one wielded by one of the most famous lords in the Sengoku era of Japan. Reila was confident that it would summon the person she had in mind. But she had one more plan.

Usually that person would be summoned under one of the knight classes. However, Reila knew that she did not possess the necessary magical energy to bring out the best of that person in their original class. So she would include the madness incantation to her summoning chant, forcing the summoned servant's class to change to berserker. Having a berserker class servant held two advantages.

Firstly, they get a boost to all their parameters compared to servants of other classes. It was simple. Reila lacked the magical energy to support a servant, so by summoning a berserker she would overcome that obstacle. She hoped that the boosted parameters would be enough to even the odds against the other servants.

The other benefit comes in the form of a curse. The boost they get to all their parameters is granted in exchange for their sanity. They are nothing more than mindless beasts, unable to properly communicate through speech. As a result, they obey their master's order without question, regardless of how heinous the order may be. This trait made them easier to control than other servants. For a servant of one of the knight classes, making them obey every order can sometimes prove difficult. 

The catalyst slightly moved.

The cause were the hands holding the rusty old sword. They belonged to a boy whose age was not more than fifteen. The first thing anyone would notice when they laid their eyes on him was his radiant, golden hair. In the darkened room, it gave the illusion as if it was glowing. He had pale, blue eyes, which hinted at his foreign heritage. He wore a ragged overgrown shirt as well as dark blue jeans which were also too large for him. The latter was torn in several places. His hands were wrapped in bandages. Fingers, palms....all the way up to the elbows. Despite the bandages trying to hide it, the deep reddish scars could be seen in some spots. 

Burn marks, a reminder of his cruel past.

The boy kept his eyes on the floor as he sat in the center of the summoning circle with the catalyst in hand. 

He was a slave the nine mages had acquired. His role, a sacrifice. 

Usually, the berserker class servant lived up to it's name. While possessing strong parameters, there have been records where, after being summoned, it targeted and killed it's own master. A double-edged sword so to speak. 

So the nine had planned to appease it's anger by leaving bait. The first sacrifice was for the initial summoning. Afterwards, they would have to gather more on their own.

_In a city with so many people, it shouldn't be too hard._

Reila eyed the slave boy with disinterest.

The seller had told them that the boy had excellent magic circuits for someone so young. If his parents did not abandon him he would surely have left his mark on history as one of the greatest mages.

Which made Reila all the more confused. Despite possessing talent and powerful magical circuits- despite possessing everything a mage could ask for, he would die here. For what reason could one abandon a shining gem in a world of mud?

_I will make sure your death here isn't meaningless. I will destroy the system this world runs on with my own hands._

The boy kept his eyes on the floor. He had not shown any emotion whatsoever throughout the entire time Reila had known him. It was as if the body was an empty husk, devoid of any life.

Reila stepped in front of the summoning circle before raising an outstretched palm in front of her.

_"Heed my words, My will creates your body,_  
_And your sword creates my destiny."_

The room suddenly started to shake slightly, as sparks of lightning occasionally came out from the summoning circle.

_"If you heed the Grail's call,_  
_And obey my will and reason, Then answer my summoning!"_

_The unfairness of this world…I will crush it! Reila_ thought to herself as she continued.

_"I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat….all evil in the world!"_

_Now to invoke the madness incantation…_

_"Then let thine eyes be clouded, with the fog of turmoil and chaos, thou, who art trapped in a cage of madness, and I, the summoner, who holds thy chains!"_

The room shook more violently now, as if an earthquake was taking place. The lightning sparks erupting from the circle almost struck Reila as she continued.

_Father….watch me!_

The face of her father flashed by her mind as she eyed the slave boy one last time. He still looked down at the floor while clutching the catalyst to his chest.

_"Seventh heaven clad, And the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of Scales!"_

And so the prayer was answered

* * *

**December 24, 2018**  
**00:00:26 AM**

A flash of light thundered down suddenly as the whole room was covered in smoke. Reila and the other mages covered their mouths and noses with their robes. A few quickly opened the nearby windows as they coughed and tried to make sense of what had happened, and just as suddenly murmurs started as the nine mages finally saw the sight before them. 

There, within the slowly dissipating smoke, stood a lone figure. 

It was a relatively short, slender woman in her mid twenties, clothed in a black jacket along with a red cape. She had long, black hair with a slight tint of red. A sheathed katana rest near her waist. The boots she wore had a shade of gold. The reddish black cap she was wearing also had gold straw like armaments at the cap's center, shaped like a half setting sun. To sum it up in a sentence-

The woman wore an overly fashioned military uniform. 

She stood motionlessly with her eyes closed and her arms crossed, as if she was not aware of her surroundings. Nevertheless, the intimidating aura she emanated was still clearly visible.

Overcoming her initial shock, Reila smiled. She turned back towards her fellow mages and saw them smiling as well. 

They had done it. They had successfully summoned a servant.

They would finally join the Holy Grail War.

Reila steeled her resolve as she slowly approached the newly summoned servant. As she did so, she also noticed the boy through the smoke beside her, still clutching the catalyst. Even after all that had happened he did not move a muscle and still kept his eyes on the floor. The woman too was motionless, with only her cape and hair slightly moving. 

"Respond to my voice berserker." She loudly declared.

The crimson eyes finally opened and set their gaze on the one who had spoken. Reila swallowed her fears and nervousness as she continued. 

"I am the one who have summoned you to participate in this Holy Grail War, and so I am your master. O' warrior of madness! I offer you this boy as a sacrifice to satisfy your anger! Lend me your strength as my servant in this war, and crush my enemies!"

The servant still stood motionless.

_Is her madness enhancement so high that she can't comprehend what I'm saying?_

"Heed my words O' great warlord of the Sengoku era! By your true name Oda Nobunaga, I, Reila Eredith, order you to obey my every command!"

"Oh?"

A reaction.

Berserker finally showed some emotion as she let out an evil grin and eyed Reila. 

"So you know my true name? You must have prepared specifically to summon me."

"Wha..?!"

 _She can communicate perfectly?! B-but I am certain I used the madness incantation properly._

As Reila was trying figure out what was going on, Berserker continued.

"To use the sword that I used during my last moments as a catalyst….hmph, not bad. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to acquire it. In fact, to summon me, I'm certain it took you months of preparation, if not years. Mage of a distant land, I certainly applaud you for your efforts. However…."

The look on Berserker's face turned into one of pity.

"However…foolish girl, you are wrong about one thing." 

The next line that came from Berserker's mouth shattered Reila's whole world.

"You are not my master."

 _….….What?_

"R-Reila…!" She heard a voice calling her from behind. It belonged to one of her comrades. The surprise on his face was clear as he barely managed to get the next words out.

"The slave boy…! On his hand….!!"

Reila whipped her head back towards the young boy that sat besides berserker. 

She saw it.

On his right hand, partially visible through the bandages, were three red brush strokes that formed a tattoo like symbol. 

For the next few moments Reila felt herself leaving her own body.

She saw herself charging at him, maniacally screaming as she put her hands around his throat. 

_N-no! Stop!!_

"GIVE ME BACK MY DESTINY!!"

 _This isn't me!!_

She saw the boy's eyes slowly turning lifeless as he lay below him and struggled to breathe, heard her comrade's pleadings to stop behind her. And yet…

"WHY?! WHY IS IT YOU?? I'VE SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR THIS!!"

_And yet…!_

"Hmph…look at you, no different from a mindless beast at this point."

She looked to her left as two pair of boots greeted her. She heard sounds as if something….no…many things were being created above her. She lifted her head to see Berserker staring down.

"Where did that look of resolve go I wonder?"

Behind her, about ten or so rifles floated in mid air. Not modern guns, but rather weapons that were used during her time. The matchlock rifles were aimed right at her.

Then they opened fire.

In her final moments, the only question Reila Eredith had on her mind was how could a boy be chosen as a master when he had not even chanted the summoning ritual. For what reason would the Grail choose him?

There were sounds of flesh being pierced, and then she saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

Berserker eyed the corpse of the female mage which lay a couple feet away for a couple more seconds before turning her attention to the boy who was now slowly standing up beside her. He massaged his throat with one hand as he also stared at the corpse. 

It was riddled with holes. The upper part of the head was completely blown off, a few limbs were apparently also torn off from the body and were splattered on the floor. The white dress the woman had been wearing was dyed red with blood. Berserker assumed that her young master would cower from seeing the scene before him.

Yet the surprise on his face lasted only for a few moments before his face became expressionless like before.

_Oh? Interesting._

Berserker smiled, impressed. It seemed there was more to her master than she thought.

"Y-YOU MONSTER!"

Her thoughts broken, Berserker turned her head towards the group of mages from where the voice had originated. 

"How could you just kill her in cold blood??!" A young man screamed as he slightly stepped forward.

"H-Hey! stop it you fool!" Another man interjected.

"Fon, you're just going to let it slide?! That monster killed Reila! We must take revenge!" 

"JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!" The man named Fon punched the first man, causing him to fall to the ground. Fearing the worst, the others quickly came in between them, trying to prevent further violence. But Fon simply continued shouting.

"Do you think you can win against a servant? Go ahead and throw your life away then!"

The group, seemingly silenced by that rebuttal did not offer any further arguments.

"Besides, the servant was just protecting the kid! It's her duty to protect her master!"

Having made his point, the man called Fon slowly walked towards Berserker before standing in front of her. Berserker simply stared back at him wordlessly.

Apparently the silence had made him nervous, because he gulped and made a ridiculous proposition.

"…Please let me help your master in the Holy Grail War."

"Are you crazy? They're the enemy!"

"No! Are you really abandoning us?"

"You traitor! I trusted you!"

Despite the various protests from his fellow mages, Fon simply shouted back, "Shut up! I've bet it all on this Holy Grail War. I've spent my entire family fortune! Why would I back down now after coming this far??"

He then stared back at the crowd.

"Isn't it the same for you??"

Silence.

"Ask yourselves! Will you really back down now? Didn't you guys also come here to change your fates?"

Silence.

"W-Well I'm not ready to give up yet. H-Hey kid, please let me help you out! I…I promise I'll be useful!!"

Berserker stared at him for a while longer before sighing and turned her head towards the boy.

"So master, what will you do?"

"I don't want any help."

It was the first time everyone in that room heard the boy speak. The mages were so surprised to hear the quiet but resounding voice that they completely missed the blunt answer he had given. Even now he stared down at the floor, his hands still tightly holding the catalyst to his chest.

"FUHAHAHAHAHA!"

Berserker laughed hysterically as the mages stared at her with surprise, not expecting it. After laughing for a couple more seconds and finally regaining her composure she said grinning, "To give an answer to such an important question without even thinking, it seems my master is a bigger fool than me!"

Her mood lightened, she cheerfully turned back to address the crowd in front of her. 

"Alright everyone! My master has given his opinion. So it seems you all must die now!"

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as the bloodlust from Berserker could be felt by everyone. They immediately knew that this person was serious, and that they had no chance of winning against a servant in combat. Finally sensing the gravity of the situation they were in, the mages had no choice but to beg for their lives.

"W-Wait! There's no need to kill us! We won't get in your way!"

"Please, have mercy! I have a family!!"

"That's right! P-Please let me go! You'll never see me again!!"

More than a dozen rifles appeared behind Berserker as she revealed her maniac like grin once more.

"Fools. Do you think I, who have beheaded countless traitors in my time can't discern someone with ulterior motives? Each one of you would stab my master in the back given the chance. Even if he accepted your help, I would've massacred the lot of you anyway!" 

The illusion now completely broken, the surviving mages fell into panic. Some tried to run while others tried to fight back. 

But….

Just as the mad warrior had declared, it was a massacre.

* * *

"I didn't think you'd let me kill them just like that."

"….It's like you said, they would've killed me if given the chance. While I wouldn't care if I died any other time, but now…."

The boy stared at the tattoo like symbol on his hand. The reason he had almost died a few moments ago. It was also the reason he had lived.

The proof of him being a participant in the Holy Grail War.

"Heh I didn't think a little kid like you was a cold blooded murderer."

"Don't call me a kid. Besides.…I won't run away from the choices I made, regardless of what they are. Even if the only thing I did was point the finger. So I guess you're right….I am a murderer."

With those word the boy was silent for a long time, staring at the littered corpses nearby. Berserker, meanwhile observed him. She had noticed the burn marks through the bandages on his hands, noticed the quick recovery he had made from seeing a dead body. 

This young boy had faced his own share of pain and struggles to reach this point. He had witnessed death before. The mad warrior was interested to know what lay at the end of his journey.

And so, amidst the torn corpses, Berserker turned towards her master and asked him, "O' master who have summoned me…what is your name?"

"….Linist. Linist Mare."

The boy at first surprised by the sudden question, quickly replied in his quiet voice, still staring at the corpses. 

"And what is your wish for the Holy Grail Linist Mare?"

The boy pondered the question for several seconds, before turning his head towards Berserker. Even though his face did not show any signs emotion, she saw his eyes had reached some sort of truth. And he declared his wish.

"I wish for isolation."

Berserker studied his face for a long time, as if trying to find the meaning behind those words. And after what seemed like an eternity she finally moved.

She grabbed the rusty old sword which the boy clutched near his chest, the same katana she had used to end her life in that burning temple. She threw it away behind her. The action startled Linist as he took a few steps back.

"Very well Linist Mare! I, Oda Nobunaga, accept you as my master and swear that I shall do everything in my power to make sure you win this Holy Grail War! What you wish at the end of that journey is up to you. Now…."

Her face lit into a smile, one full of ambition. Recalling the campaigns she led in the past, her blood boiled to experience it all over again.

"Let us begin our great conquest to victory!"


	4. Observer

**December 24, 2018**  
**03:57:07 AM**

As the first rays of sunlight hit the snow filled tree branches, the sound of footsteps could be heard. For a moment they stopped, their owner temporarily crouching down to observe something in the snow before resuming their journey. Soon, the footsteps grew quieter and quieter as they reached the seemingly abandoned structure in front of them.

The footsteps belonged to a red hooded figure. The black jacket and leather pants he wore had crimson stains similar to dried blood in several spots. The hood he wore overshadowed the upper part of his face while bandages were wrapped around the lower portion. As a result, it was impossible to distinguish his facial features. The figure slowly approached the large structure which was a church. When he got close he noticed the large doors lay slightly open, and a moment later he brought out a small military knife. 

_"Master, I'm at the location. It appears you were right."_

Needless to say, the figure was communicating through telepathy. The receiver of the message nowhere near him.

The scene he could see through the open doors already confirmed the thing he was sent to investigate. 

It was a picture brought straight from hell.

As he warily entered the room, the stench of death reached his nostrils. There were about nine of them. Judging from the smell, they had been dead for a few hours. He looked around for clues, making sure not to miss anything of importance while avoiding stepping on the corpses. A cheerful voice in his head suddenly rang out.

_"Hmm…so a group of mages really did set up base there. Guess I was right to keep an eye on them through the cameras. Assassin, what does it look like? Did a battle between servants took place there?"_

_"No."_ The hooded Assassin replied as he noticed an object on the ground. He continued his report as he walked towards it. _"The destruction in the area is too lacking. Moreover, there had been many high to medium level wards and familiars placed inside the forest. While they're now deactivated due to the casters being dead, it'd be difficult for another servant to reach this place without at least setting some of them off. Which would alert the master and their servant based here."_

_"Unless they're an Assassin class servant right?"_

The lone figure did not reply. His gaze now on the object that had grabbed his attention. It was a rusty old katana, a bit of fresh blood was splattered near the top, no doubt from one of the corpses here. _It is highly likely the heroic spirit summoned here is of eastern origin....maybe even Japan._ He thought to himself.

 _"Sorry sorry, I'm just joking! I know you'd let me know before moving in to kill someone."_ The other voice quickly spoke up, having misunderstood the silence from Assassin to be anger. _"Please continue your report."_

 _"…My theory is that the mages here summoned Berserker but failed to control them properly."_ Assassin picked up the katana to study it more closely. It was easily a few hundred years old. _"As a result the servant killed the master as well as his followers. Which is why there isn't much damage done in the area."_

_"Hmmmmm….makes sense."_ The voice in Assassin's head hummed softly before asking another question.

_"Then do you think Berserker's spirit origin disappeared?"_

A servant is an anomaly, summoned forcibly in the world that continuously rejects their existence. As a result, if a servant is not contracted to a master, their spirit origin which needs a constant supply of magical energy to function starts to crumble and as a result, the servant disappears. Usually, servants without a master cannot maintain their spirit origin for more than an hour or two. Hence, the question.

_"I can't say for certain at this point. In addition, the scenario I've provided could also have played out differently in reality."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I noticed a pair of footprints in the snow leaving the forest, away from the church. The size is too small to be an adult. Considering it hasn't snowed in the last few hours and the lack of bloodstains outside, it seems like a child who was here for a few hours walked away without any fatal injuries. He walked away from a place which contains nine corpses."_

The voice audibly sighed as it's tone grew more exhausted.

_"What the hell?! This just adds more mystery to the pile! Now I gotta be on the lookout for a potential kid master too...talk about a pain in the ass! Well whatever, thanks for your reports as always. I got a call from another friend which I gotta take so for now you're off duty. I'll call for you again later if I need anything."_

_"…….Understood."_

As the connection cut off the hooded man looked at the corpses one last time.

"Hmph….no matter the era, humans never change."

He turned around to leave the area, however-

"...?!"

He quickly swung his knife in front of him and sliced the object that had come from the depths of the forest. 

An arrow. 

The sliced arrow silently fell to the ground before disappearing.

 _Made of magical energy huh…_ Assassin thought to himself as he watched it disappear, before instantly bringing the blade close to him again and ran for the exit.

A moment later, about two more arrows shot out from the same location at blinding speed. Their target being the red hooded Assassin. The fact that these arrows had come from the dense jungle and through the thin opening of the doors already spoke volumes about the shooter's skills, but they were also all aimed at the location Assassin was planning to move to. 

"Tch…!"

Assassin zigzagged his way to the open door while deflecting the arrows that came his way. He needed to get out of this enclosed space and into the open field where he could maneuver more easily. He knew he was dealing with an Archer class servant. And at the moment, they had the upper hand by being in a safer position. 

However, Assassin was confident that he could turn things around as soon as he got outside. The sooner he closed the distance between him and the mysterious assailant, the better.

"[---- -----, ------ -----]!"

When he was a couple feet away from the door, he muttered a silent incantation. He felt all of his senses heightened to the point that time slowed down around him.

It was a special type of magecraft he had mastered while alive. By manipulating his own body's time flow, he gained a boost to his agility. As a result it allowed him to perform high speed attacks and movement.

He saw three more arrows coming at him in slow motion, each of them to where he was planning to move to. However, he had gotten out of the church and had already materialised his second weapon by the time the arrows hit the location he was at a second ago.

Time flowed normally once again as Assassin fired off his machine pistol towards the initial location the arrows had come from. A tenth of a second later he dashed towards the location. He knew Archer would now retreat from their position, they were compromised. Assassin would use this opportunity to close the distance between them. As long as he caught a glimpse of them, Assassin would have some bit of information to work with in the future. If Archer decided to fight back he would eliminate them.

But, what happened next caught him completely off guard.

A figure.

The man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of Assassin. He had done the unthinkable. He charged from his hidden position towards Assassin with his bow drawn, the arrow pointed straight at his face. 

Assassin could not believe his eyes. _An archer not retreating but instead fighting in close range with a bow??!_

Archer fired the arrow.

The red assassin was a little more than five meters away. The arrow itself would need less than a second to cross that distance and lodge itself on the target's skull. Normally, there was no way to dodge this single arrow. 

However…

"[---- -----, ------ -----]!!"

This was a battle between heroic spirits. Individuals who had gone past the limits of 'normal'.

Time slowed down once again as Assassin brought the knife in front him to deflect the arrow. At the same time he shifted his whole weight towards the left, to prepare for a counter attack as soon as he deflected the arrow with the edge of his knife.

"Kuh…!!"

But the arrow did not follow it's normal trajectory at all. Instead, it magically changed it's direction midway towards the direction Assassin was diving towards. 

_I've underestimated him! He's more skilled with the bow than I thought...!!_

"Ugh…!!"

Even though he successfully deflected it, the force of the impact itself knocked Assassin backwards off balance. This was checkmate. He was completely open to attacks. He would need time to regain his footing. Time his enemy would not give.

Assassin prepared himself to face the deathblow by reinforcing his body with magecraft. While the damage he would suffer would still be fatal, he concluded he could still survive long enough to take down his opponent. Moreover….

He had still not used his trump card.

But Archer did not follow through with his attack.

Instead, he landed a couple meters away from Assassin, who, now recovered, quickly retook a combat stance.

"Hmm…I was sure that last arrow would seal the deal but you even managed to see through that. It appears you have some sort of trick that goes past what my eyes can see. I'm impressed!"

Archer after saying that, thought for a moment with his hand on his chin. He was a relatively tall figure, a little taller than Assassin himself with short, black hair. His tan, muscular build could be clearly distinguished even through his vibrant green armour. The large, reddish bow he held was also beautiful in design.

The man, now discovering an answer to Assassin's superhuman speed, looked at him once more before asking a question.

"Are you using magecraft perhaps?"

"…"

"Ah I guess I was right."

Even though Assassin had expressed no sort of emotions, Archer confidently declared that he was correct in his deduction.

"But….you don't strike me as a caster. In fact, I'm fairly certain you're an assassin class servant."

"….And what if I am?"

Assassin finally spoke. While he still kept his weapons in his hands, he understood that the servant in front of him was not in the mood for battle. He was here for the same reason as Assassin.

Reconnaissance.

"Ah you finally in the mood for conversation huh!" Archer let out a bright smile. "For a second I thought I'd have to talk by myself haha!"

"Am I correct to assume you're the archer class servant of this Holy Grail War?"

"Yeah! I'm just a third rate servant though. You, on the other hand, seem to be really well versed in combat."

 _Nonsense._ Assassin from that earlier engagement already knew that the servant before him was not to be messed with. He was one who had dedicated his entire life to the bow. 

He was anything but third rate.

"So….did you kill those people inside?" Archer asked bluntly. While the smile still remained on his face, Assassin's instincts told him that the wrong answer to this question might start another fight.

So he decided to answer truthfully.

"No. They had been dead for a few hours."

"Is that so....I couldn't see everything clearly because the door wasn't open all the way but that possibility did cross my mind."

 _I see. There's a high probability that he possesses a form of mystic eyes which grants him phenomenal eyesight as well as also lets him see a bit into the future. That would explain how he fired those arrows towards where I planned to go._

"Hahaha now that I think about it, maybe I should've talked with you first before fighting. I showed off a bit of my abilities!"

"…Well I'm sure you've also figured out a bit about me so it appears to be a fair trade of information."

Hearing that Archer once again let out a light-hearted laugh before making a serious face.

"Hey, how about we form an alliance?"

"An alliance?"

"Yeah. You seem like the type of guy who can keep calm during a crisis. My master only said to get familiar with the area and gauge the other servant's strengths but I don't think he'd mind if we worked together for a while. What do you say?"

"I see. But I'll have to refuse. My master as well as me prefer to work alone for now."

"Ah….that's unfortu-."

"However…" Assassin interrupted Archer before continuing, "I don't mind a temporary non aggression pact. We won't work together, but we won't get in each other's way either." 

Archer kept his eyes on Assassin for a few seconds before smiling.

"I see....well I'm fine with that! Honestly the less servants I have to fight the better. I hate fights where I can't give it my all, and you guys are way too strong!"

And so, the negotiations being completed Archer faced towards the forest.

"Well, guess I should leave. My master will probably wake up soon." The bow from Archer's hand disappeared as he turned his head towards Assassin one last time. "Hopefully we both stay alive until the end."

Assassin silently nodded as he watched the other servant dissipate into thin air.

For a moment he did not move. He replayed everything that had happened in his head. He wondered if he should report what had happened to his master but then decided against it. The reason was simple.

He did not trust that person yet. While he had somewhat figured out who they were when he was summoned, he still did not know the reason they had joined this Grail War. They had their own agenda for this war and Assassin would only trust himself until he figured out what it was.

But there was one thing he was sure of.

 _Archer's master is a high priority target. Must eliminate as soon as possible._

* * *

**04:11:12 AM**

_…….Well anyway, thanks your reports as always. I got a call from another friend which I gotta take so for now you're off duty. I'll call for you again later if I need anything."_

The voice echoed in the spacious dark room. A moment later, the owner of said voice flipped open his phone to answer the call he had been expecting. 

"Well?"

"Mr. Brewer just notified me that he has reached Fujisawa."

"Eh for real?" The voice paused a bit, it's owner checking the time on his phone. It had been a little over sixteen hours since he had taken the case.

"He sure works fast." The voice said, clearly Impressed. It's owner turned his head back towards the objects he had been watching for the last few days.

In front of him were about a dozen or so monitors, each one showing part of the city for a limited interval before the screen flickered and a different part was shown. The city was at the moment, peaceful and asleep. However, in a few hours it would wake up and a new chaotic day would start.

"Well thanks for the help. The last piece is in place." The voice said to the messenger on the phone. "So your work is done."

"…..Understood. Resetting nominal values to default. Ceasing…..function.…."

The voice on the other side started to distort as it continued.

"Returning….to…..[------------------------]….."

There was a loud crash and then the connection cut off.

"Sheesh....I hope he was alone. Otherwise I'd have another headache to worry about."

The owner of the voice put away his phone as he tried to scratch his arm through the soft fabric of the costume he wore.

He failed.

The screen in front of the voice reflected back a bright pink rabbit. It's large head contained two pointy ears, large blue eyes as well as a smile with two big teeth on the front printed on it. It had large paws with small white circles around the palms. It also had a small fluffy, white tail on the back.

The person inside the costume only knew that it was a mascot character in some kid's show. Despite how friendly and fluffy it looked on the outside, the inside of the costume was pure hell.

One would sweat to the point of having a heatstroke if they spent too much time in it. However, due to the cold weather as well as other circumstances, getting a heatstroke was out of the picture for the owner of the costume.

Unfortunately, the man inside had no way to take it off either. 

First of all, when he came to his senses he was already wearing this abomination. No matter how much he looked for it, he could not find the zipper of the costume. 

Secondly, he was not in the most populated of places. As a result he could not get anyone else to help him. Then again….

He doubted anyone else besides him would be crazy enough to be living in the sewers of a city. 

It was the best place to hide in his opinion. Since most of the city of Fujisawa was under surveillance with all the cameras around. And because food was not an issue for him, he could coordinate with his servant without needing to go above often.

However, the most important reason he could not get rid of this costume was because-

…It was the only piece of clothing he had.

"Achoo!!"

A sneeze rang out in the vast underground room as the animal costume typed in a few things to change the images on the monitors before him. He had bypassed the camera security system a few days ago and could see everything they saw. While setting up in the sewer proved a bit more difficult at first, magecraft had taken care of that. 

He focused on one of the screens which showed a bizarre scene. It was a camera located inside of some sort of dining room. The man already knew where that room was located. He had sent Assassin to recon the area some time ago.

Calling it impenetrable would be an understatement. The place was much, much more fortified than the church Assassin reported on. While Assassin had suggested that he could blow up the whole building itself with explosives if necessary. But the man had rejected that idea. He would first try his own method.

He kept his eyes on the blurry video feed where two figures could be seen. They seemed to be eating while discussing something. However, the man could not hear what they were talking about as the cameras themselves did not record audio. 

The man did not know the names of the figures. But he knew they were the main targets. The masterminds of this false Grail War. A direct assassination attempt would certainly be the quickest way to eliminate them, but he still did not know the servant those two had contracted with. If the servant belonged to one of the knight classes, Assassin would be destroyed without a question, even if his combat abilities were better than the typical assassin servants. But, he could not take the risk, not with what was at stake. Furthermore, the war would not end with their deaths. 

An assassin must kill from the shadows. And that opportunity still had not presented itself yet.

The two figures shown in the camera started to laugh before one of them opened the bowl in the middle which the observer had guessed to be the main dish. Once he saw what was underneath however, his face inside the costume stiffened.

"Phew….humans sure are interesting." He muttered to himself under his breath before leaning closer to the screen, hoping the next few minutes would give some answers to the many questions he had.


	5. Caster

**December 24, 2018**  
**04:11:12 AM**

"…I see. Did any other rats enter the city?"

"Well when I asked him about it, Caster said he sensed another one entering his territory field.…though at this point he pretty much expanded it to the whole city. And considering the magecraft we applied to keep your average rats away from the outside-"

"It means another mage came huh….heh as soon as they hear a Holy Grail War taking place, they gather like moths."

The two figures sat opposite to each other, while having their breakfast. It would be a busy day today depending on how certain events occurred, so they had no choice but to enjoy it early. 

The table between them contained many kinds of dishes, some of them opened while others remained covered with a lid. The two figures were hungrily devouring them like wolves as they discussed matters.

The figure on the right was a man in his mid twenties. However, he had a face which made him look much younger. He had short, spiky black hair along with green eyes and wore a full sleeved white shirt with black leather jeans. He addressed the figure sitting opposite to him.

"By the way Frederick, what of the project we asked Caster to complete?"

The figure on the left replied as he chewed through his food.

"Helgh iip I orh. Heid be-"

"…Please finish the food in your mouth before replying."

"Orgh thorry." Came the reply. 

The man called Frederick was an exact copy of the figure on the right. Being twins, people would always confuse the two in the past. And so, they chose to wear different clothes to differentiate themselves. Frederick was clothed in a black jacket and leather jeans. He chewed through his food food quickly before replying.

"So as I was saying, hell if I know. He's been holed up in his room for a while now and said he would let us know when he was done."

"Hm, I see. I had hoped he would get reinforcements ready by now." The second brother put his hand to his chin. "….Then again since he's taking his time now, it means the next batch will be worth the wait."

"I hope so Albert. That priest bastard really screwed things up for us."

"Well I'd say he screwed things up for you more." The brother named Albert replied with a grin. "How's the new arm?"

Frederick eyed the place where his left arm used to be. In it's place was….something resembling the shape of a colourless hand, right up to the shoulder. Though the material it was made from was liquid in nature, it had no problem maintaining the shape. It was also almost transparent, which made the vein like red magical circuits inside the psuedo hand to be visible.

The reason for this new hand was the battle that took place a few days before, on the 21st. That one fight had made all their preparations up to that point void. 

It had started with a visit from some priest the Church had sent. He had brought along another for security, a young mercenary not older than thirty was serving as a bodyguard. The old priest had stated that the church would oversee the grail war, and would offer sanctuary to the masters who wished for it.

Frederick had smiled to that sentence. They had anticipated the church would get itself involved as soon as they heard the rumours.

And so, he told the old man that it would not happen, for he was to die right then and there. He remembered the shocked face the priest had made as more than a dozen mannequins surrounded him and his bodyguard. Each one were empowered by caster, giving them strength equal to a E-rank servant. Against humans that was more than enough. Six of them dived in with monstrous agility, their aim to tear through the flesh of the two targets they were assigned.

But…

"To think a single bodyguard would manage to hold his own against that…I'll admit it was outside my own expectations." Albert sighed. "If it weren't for Gatotkaca and Bakasura, you'd really die that day."

Frederick did not hear him. His mind had gone back to that day, replaying the scene that lay before his eyes.

One man had singlehandedly cut through six mannequins with ease. The weapons in his hands had simply appeared out of nowhere. Two Short, curved swords of intricate design. One white while the other was black, as if embodying the concept of Yin and Yang. The symbol was also etched near the hilt of both swords.

 _Projection magecraft!_ Frederick grinned as he saw the opportunity of devouring a strong foe. He dashed at the bodyguard with terrifying speed, ready to crush his organs with his magically enhanced fists.

"Not only taking out most of the puppets we had, but the guy also destroyed more than a quarter of the reserved mana crystals we processed. A single guy….honestly! We gotta build up our forces from scratch because of that asshole. And we lost thirty five percent of mana reserve before we killed any servants. And you lost your arm. If caster hadn't been nearby to create that psuedo arm you'd actually die!"

Thanks to his brother's grumbling, Frederick was back in the present. He glared at him but Albert did not pay much attention to it. Instead he continued to grumble.

"Hopefully the Church doesn't send another priest to check up on us. One brought us enough trouble as it is.…though I'll admit it was satisfying finally killing the old bastard." He said with a smile, remembering the old man's screams as his guts were ripped out from his stomach.

Frederick kept silent as he continued to eat the food on the table. So Albert decided to push it further.

"Heh but it sure is embarrassing getting saved by a demon wouldn't you say?" He asked in a mocking tone before continuing. "If Gatotkaca hadn't jumped in front of you and sacrificed his life, you'd not get away with only losing your arm."

"Shut up."

"And I keep telling you to be calm during fights too. Yet you still always charge in without thinking. Because of you we lost two demons Caster had produced."

"Eh shut up already!" Frederick finally snapped. He knew what happened was his fault. There was absolutely no excuses for his carelessness. 

He had charged in without thinking things through, and that….that damned bodyguard had deflected every attack. Over time the fight had extended to the lower levels, where the mana reserves were. By now even the two demons joined the fight. However…

The bodyguard had killed Bakasura with a single strike with some sort of holy sword. Frederick had moved in with beastly speed immediately afterwards, sensing an opening. But he had only lost his arm in the process.

"Caster said the demons he summoned weren't at full strength anyway. So the blame doesn't just lie with me…."

"Now listen you….that's all the more reason you SHOULD'VE been more careful!"

"Just because you're older than me by five minutes doesn't actually make you my big brother so drop this nagging already."

"It absolutely makes me the older brother jackass! That's the DEFINITION of being older!!"

The twins glared at each other for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter. It had always been like this. 

_Recognize and accept your mistakes but never admit it, even in the face of unconquerable adversary._ This simple, contradictory rule was their whole life. They would work to improve on their mistakes but never admit them, even to each other.

"Whatever! We managed to kill him in the end anyway so it doesn't matter." Frederick waved his transparent hand as if to dismiss the matter before placing it on top of the large lid in the center. It covered the highlight of today's 'breakfast'. 

"Already moving on to the main dish? Well it's your prey so do what you want." Albert shrugged as he decided not to tease his younger brother any further.

Frederick simply grinned in reply as he slowly lifted the lid, the stench of death immediately filling the room.

The lifeless eyes of a auburn haired man stared back. While the severed head had dried up and stiffened a bit, it did not faze the younger brother at all. Instead his psuedo arm reached out to touch the face of the bodyguard who had valiantly fought to the end. He had continued fighting until his head had been separated from the body. Frederick recalled the last moments of his brave opponent. 

He recalled the eyes that stared at him which held no signs of fear, as a mannequin ripped off his head.

He recalled the hands that never shook with cowardice, but instead recreated and gripped his weapons firmly everytime he was disarmed, even when every bone in them were crushed.

And finally, he recalled the back of this seemingly unstoppable lonely figure, which never took a step backwards. But instead charged forward with everything he had, even when he was riddled with wounds.

Meat and bones splattered all across the room as Frederick effortlessly crushed the head, some of it splattering on his face. Albert simply sighed as he wiped the blood off of his own face before getting up from his seat and heading for the door.

"Make sure to devour the heart quickly and get used to the new magic circuits. We have a long day ahead of us." He said to his younger brother before closing the door silently behind him.

"…"

Frederick simply stared in silence at the dried organ which lay in front of the severed head, it now glowing with a sinister red due to the blood painted all over it.

* * *

Devour to get stronger, that had always been how the Feldan family of mages improved their magic circuit. They would devour the mages they defeated, before gaining their abilities. As such, it quickly grew into one of the strongest mage families in Europe, doing so within just under three centuries and was well on it's way to be one of the strongest mage families in the world.

However, this method of strength had a fatal flaw.

Many Feldan mages had died due to their bodies not being able to handle the newly gained magical circuits. Some lost their sanity in search for power and hunted their own. Others simply ran away due to not being able to handle such methods. All these things had reduced the expansion of the family bloodline considerably. Yet still they endured to this day.

 _But Frederick won't have that sort of problems._ Albert thought to himself as he walked alone in the long hallway, his destination, the elevator at the end. He did not think that because of brotherly affection. No, it was just because he had seen him devour countless others before. Albert himself had done the same. He _knew_ they were both special. The strongest among the Feldan bloodline.

The doors to the elevator opened, no one inside it at the moment.

"Well I wonder what I'll do while Frederick is busy." He muttered the words as he entered it. Inside, sixteen buttons stared at him, waiting to take him to whichever floor he chose.

_Well I can't visit Caster considering he's busy making the next 'batch'._

As the elevator slowly descended to the third floor, he recalled the summoning ritual held a few days before the priest visited them. He remembered Frederick saying the catalyst they were using would ensure one of the strongest servants from Indian mythology was summoned. A single torn piece of 'paper' from a certain text.

Karna, the hero of charity. They had heard how he had been summoned in the Great Holy Grail War held in Romania. However, they had heard that he had been defeated in the end.

 _"Probably because of the master who summoned him."_ Alfred had mockingly said.

And so, confident in summoning one of the strongest servant in this war, Alfred proceeded with the summoning ritual. But the person they had summoned could no way be the great hero of charity described in the Mahabharata. 

For the short, skinny figure who sat cross legged and was staring at him and Frederick simply radiated an aura which spelled 'weak'. He was a dark skinned man who looked to be in his nineties, with long white hair and beard covering his face. His skinny, bone like body was covered only by an orange cloth, which he wore as a robe. Albert took a look at the man's stat parameters.

His jaws almost dropped.

The man's stats were well below average to be in one of the three knight classes. In fact, Albert almost wondered if he had summoned some ordinary human instead.

Almost.

He noticed the magical power of the man was extremely high. 

"Hey Albert…." Frederick said from behind. Albert simply nodded.

Regardless of the hand they had been dealt, they would need to proceed. He took a deep breath before addressing the summoned servant.

"Are you by any chance a caster class servant?"

The old man paused for a moment before slowly nodding.

"That is correct." The reply came in a quiet, hoarse voice. "...Am I to guess correctly that you are my master?"

"Well…you're half correct. I did summon you but I am one of the masters you will serve."

"Oh?" This seemed to pick the old man's interest.

Frederick then stepped forward before continuing the conversation.

"You will have two masters. Me and him. We will split the command seals that bind you between us. Any problems?"

"No. What you have proposed is a wise decision. Even if one of you fall, it will not mean the end."

"That's the idea. Though we don't have any plans of dying here in this war. Not if we're to emerge victorious." Albert chimed in.

"I see. Very well, you are the ones who summoned me. So, I will comply with any wishes you might have." Caster replied monotonously. It was as if he was a doll which would show emotion only rarely.

The twins grinned at each other. Negotiations went rather smoothly and the servant seemed to be fine with obeying any orders. But then reality set in as the grins disappeared from both of their faces. They had hoped to summon one of the knight class servants which would put them at a considerable advantage. That is also the reason they had gathered a vast amount of magical reserves. So running out of mana would never be an issue during battle. But now….

"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. I am Albert Feldan, and this is my younger brother Frederick Feldan."

"WHA-"

Frederick's loud objection was however cut short by a punch in the stomach. Albert was not in the mood to start an argument about who was the eldest.

"I see. Well it is only appropriate that I also reveal my true name." 

And so Caster told them.

The sound of the elevator doors opening brought Albert back to the present. He took a moment to gather himself before stepping out to the large room filled with monitors. Each one showing a part of the city.

The central surveillance center.

One of the necessary steps for this Grail War was to make sure it was on known turf, meaning they had to have control and information. So, when someone from the government approached them and showed interest in the Grail, the twins felt they had gotten Christmas early. 

It had taken years of preparation, and the result was this. A whole city was at their fingertips.

"Ah Mr. Albert! I see you're up early." 

Albert turned his head towards the voice as a black suited man walked to him. _Uh what was his name again?_

"Mr. Takeda…good morning. I see you're up early."

"No, sir. I never slept."

"I see." Albert eyed him for a few seconds, but failing to find any hints of being tired. He turned his attention to the monitors where he could see a few people walking in the streets. _Another morning of the same boring routine for them._

"Mr. Frederick isn't up yet?"

"He's slow with his breakfast." Albert glanced at his watch before continuing. "I'm sure he'll join us soon." _Hopefully he didn't vomit this time after devouring his breakfast._

"I see sir. It seems the elder sibling is always stuck with work."

While what he said what light-hearted in tone, the man named Takeda showed no signs of emotion. Albert wondered if that was one of the requirements for being a government agent.

"Ain't that the truth." He replied monotonously. A sudden thought then struck him.

"Wait, where's the other one who's always with you?"

"Ah Mr. Tanaka decided to visit the basement levels. A patrol to check if anything is out of the ordinary. Considering the battle of a few days ago we thought we should-"

"I thought we agreed that place would be off limits to you guys."

"….It's a routine patrol sir. Strictly protocol." Takeda eyed Albert closely as he continued. "...Unless you're hiding something there which you don't want to show us. So I must ask....have you been hiding something from us, sir?"

 _Tch! suspecting us already?_

The twins were not honest when the government officials had come to them with an offer to cooperate. And why would they be? Those fools could never grasp the magnitude of power the Grail could grant. So while they were keeping up the smiles and politeness outside, they were looking for an opportunity to get rid of the 'eyes' the government had placed on them.

"Of course not." Albert replied as calmly as possible. "If I was I wouldn't even be showing you our servant. However, as you know caster is located there and he's currently busy with producing new reinforcements. So your 'Routine patrols' might disturb his concentration."

Both men stared at one another for a few seconds before Takeda turned away and headed for the elevator. 

"I see. I'll tell Mr. Tanaka to be quiet during his patrols."

"Oh! One more thing Mr. Takeda."

The man in the black suit stopped.

"The mage families you and Mr. Tanaka come from are of lower quality. They could never succeed in reaching the root and that's the reason you aid the government, isn't it?"

His question was returned with silence. So Albert grinned as he continued.

"So you shouldn't question how members of a stronger family operates."

"….Noted sir."

Takeda headed into the elevator as Albert turned his attention back to the monitors. Out there, six masters and servants were hidden. And while initially, he thought that they had a low chance of winning with a caster class servant, after hearing his true identity Albert knew that their victory was assured. They only needed time.

"By the way sir, if your family line is so strong as you say….I wonder why are you two the only ones left?"

Albert hurriedly turned his head back towards the elevators to see the doors closing. It's destination, the first floor.

"…Fucking prick." 

* * *

**04:49:27 AM**

"Hah! It seems my master isn't as composed as he lets out to be." Caster chuckled as he saw the interaction between one of his masters and the other man. 

He was placed in one of the rooms in the basement levels of his master's headquarters, hidden a few hundred feet below the ground floor. The building itself seemed to be disguised as some sort of office owned by some imaginary man. 

_At least that's what they told me._

Even though he had not been present directly to witness the interaction, he could still see everything. These special eyes had been granted to him since birth, for he was given the duty to observe and record extraordinary events and extraordinary people of his time. As long as they were within his territory he WOULD see, the choice of refusing not ever being given to him. Thus, the old sage had seen both the good of mankind, and the bad. 

_"Didn't you ever think of it as a curse?"_ Many people had asked him when he was alive.

 _Heh, how preposterous._ He had thought to himself. He had been given a duty by being granted those eyes. How he would live his long, old life was set in stone the moment he was born. People in his time perished without ever seeing a fraction of the things he had seen. For what reason would he think of it as a curse? 

_I'm an observer and a recorder, nothing more. I simply did as I was instructed._

_…And it's the same now._

His instructions at the moment was to produce suitable reinforcements which would guarantee his master's victory. And so he was processing mana to do just that.

He had been given no other orders.

So he had no reason to report that Lancer, Archer and Berserker had already been summoned. Another mage seemed to have entered the city as well which would make the number of potential enemy masters at four.

"Another new day begins in this chaotic city….I wonder what today will bring?"


	6. Archer

The man stood patiently among the sea of crowd in the train station. Despite the high number of people walking around however, not a single sound could be heard. It was as if all the sounds of the world had been buried in a place where it could not get out of.

"……"

The man looked around him, as if searching for someone. He was taller than the average person, nearing seven feet. As a result he easily towered over the rest of the people walking in the station. Usually, when someone encounters something different from the norm, they glance at it. Even if the glance might last only for a second.

It is simply human nature.

Yet not one person had glanced at the man. It was as if he was not there at all. The crowd simply went about their business, walking past him in different directions.

"……"

Suddenly the man felt a tug on his left hand.

"…..?"

Just as he looked down, the station lights dimmed until the platform was plunged into darkness. The man squinted his eyes to see the shape of a young girl smiling. She could not be more than ten to twelve years old. Compared to the man who towered over everyone else and who also had a large build, the little girl was like a harmless newborn kitten in every sense of the word. Try as he might, the man could not see her face very well. But his heart instantly knew who she was. The girl opened her mouth to say something to the man. However, no sound reached his ears. 

The girl tilted her head to the side as if she was puzzled for a moment. Then she smiled again as she repeated the sentence. The man could not hear what she said. But despite the darkness, he understood the words the girl mouthed off.

_["Come on daddy! The train will leave soon. We gotta hurry! Mommy's waiting!"]_

So the man smiled as he let the girl lead him forward.

A few meters away the man spotted the tall shadowy figure of a woman who was standing near the train. His eyes still had not fully adjusted to the darkness but he instantly knew from the woman's gentle smile who she was as well. 

Mother and daughter happily conversed with each other but the man simply stared at them.

 _I can't hear what they are saying at all._

Soon, the doors to the train opened. The crowd around the three silently boarded the train within the darkened station. 

The young girl energetically did short hops as she got onto the train. The woman smiled as she watched the youthful energy of her daughter before crossing the doors herself.

Seeing them enter, the man started to board the train as well.

But…

The woman gently pushed the man back onto the platform. 

_But…Why?_

As the man looked at the woman for answers he saw her speak. 

_I can't hear what you're saying!_

And yet he understood the words the woman mouthed off.

_["My love, it is still not time for you to board this train yet."]_

And so the train left, leaving behind only a single person in that lightless station.

_["Go back."]_

* * *

**December 24, 2018**  
**07:14:42 AM**

_That nightmare again…._

Lez Velikan slowly opened his eyes as he struggled to figure out where he was. A moment later, his muscles relaxed as his palms felt the smooth texture of the sofa he dozed off in. 

A gentle reminder that he was currently staying in a hotel. 

_Asleep for twenty minutes huh…_

He had brought out his phone from his jacket to check the time. Twenty minutes….the longest he had slept at a stretch ever since he had arrived at Fujisawa a few days ago. 

He had seen the abnormal number of cameras set up all around the city. They were placed in such a way that there were almost zero blind spots. Whoever was behind the cameras would not miss a single thing happening in the city. So, Lez already deduced him arriving was caught on tape, a fact he was perfectly fine with. A person of his size could never avoid cameras anyway. With the magical barrier set all around the city, the people in charge of the monitoring system would know he was a mage. From there, even a child could figure out that he was a potential master who had come here for the Holy Grail.

So Lez decided to break up his sleeping schedule in small blocks. 10-15 minutes of sleep, wake up and stay awake for two hours, another short nap, wake up again and repeat. While this would not guarantee his safety for all of twenty four hours, he also did not want to go into battle completely exhausted.

 _Eat when you can, sleep when you can. Because you don't know when you'll be able to do either of those again._ A mantra from his past. A different life.

_"….police are suspecting it might be some sort of gang war."_

The sudden voice grabbed Lez's attention as he glanced at the source, which in this case was the Television. He recalled he was watching some sort of drama to keep himself awake. Although at the moment, it was airing the news.

 _It seems I fell asleep without turning it off._ He thought to himself while letting out a chuckle.

The screen showed a woman standing in front of what appeared to be an abandoned church. She continued her report in an excited voice.

_"While officials have refused to comment further due to the ongoing investigation, we will keep you updated whenever we receive more info on the matter. To recap, earlier this morning law enforcement officials had apparently received a tip from an anonymous caller about hearing gunshots in this place before they hung up. When the police stormed the place they found several dead bodies lying inside. This makes it the first case of killings in Fujisawa since…."_

"Huh...so that's the church Archer told me about." Lez muttered to himself. He recalled the conversation with his servant a few hours ago, when he came to report what he found. 

"Yo master! Still awake huh." The knight of the bow materialised out of thin air behind Lez, who was watching the morning sun rise as it greeted the town.

"First get yourself fully familiarised with the city. After that you can stay in spirit form and guard this place. I'll think of sleep then."

"Got it. I wish I could explore the place quicker. I'm sorry." Archer bowed his head slightly as he apologized.

"Heh don't worry about such trivial things. I might've aged, but this body is still in top shape. So tell me Archer, what caused you to come back ten minutes earlier than we decided on?"

So Archer told him about the dead bodies he saw in the church, his encounter with the hooded Assassin and finally, the non aggression pact Assassin had suggested.

"Hm I see. A non aggression pact huh. Seems a little too good to be true. What do you think, Archer?"

"It's probably a trap." Archer replied without hesitation.

"A trap? What makes you think that?"

"How can I explain properly…." Archer frowned as he put a hand to his chin. After thinking for a few moments he continued.

"Well in a sense….he's kind of like how I was when I was alive."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I feel like he's the type of guy who prefers efficiency when finishing his goals. So if he feels like he encounters an obstacle that's in the way of his objectives, he'll use the quickest method to remove that obstacle."

"I see. So you think he'll assassinate me instead of fighting you directly to beat you." 

Lez casually said out loud what he understood from the analysis. Even though his own life was potentially threatened, his voice remained calm.

Indeed that was the logical thing to do. If he was Assassin's master he would also target the masters instead of their servants. The assassin class in general are weak in direct combat. Against one of the three knight classes, the result would be obvious.

But…

"You think he was holding back against you?"

Archer silently nodded.

"Hmm…"

 _Am I being too cautious?_ Lez pondered the question for a while. Even if Assassin was holding back, the same could be said about Archer, and Lez was confident that Archer could beat him no matter what tricks Assassin had up his sleeve.

 _But even so…prepare for the worst._

"Alright I'll trust your judgement as well as those eyes." Lez eyed the red strokes on his left hand as he said those words.

"Well when you put it like that it's kinda embarrassing…" Archer smiled as he scratched his head.

Lez also smiled for a second before it faded.

"However, you will continue with your reconnaissance of the city."

"…You sure?"

It was Lez's time to nod. "If I sense that Assassin, or any other servant is close by I'll use a command seal to forcefully teleport you here." He tapped the red strokes with a finger before continuing, "As for the dead bodies in the church, we'll ignore it for now. The most logical explanation I can find is some sort of feud went in there. No point in diverting our focus all over the place. We need information first." 

Archer eyed his master for a long time before finally smiling.

"Alright. I'll trust your decision just as you trust mine, master."

That was a few hours ago. Archer had gone back to his recon duties while Lez had stayed up since then.

However, it seems he was far more tired than he realised.

_"….have found yet another house which was broken into. However, like previous cases nothing appeared to have been stolen. The police are saying that like the past cases, there are signs that the perpetrator had stayed in the house for a couple days."_

Broken from his line of thought, Lez shifted his gaze to the television once more.

_"This peculiar phenomenon has already created discussions online. Referred to as ' The Phantom Visitor' incident, this unique perpetrator seems to only break into houses without stealing anything. The residents of the houses usually are away on vacation or trips. It's unclear what the motive of this 'phantom' is, as well as how they pick only houses whose residents are away for long amounts of time. One thing that IS clear though is that this person have managed to stay five steps ahead of the law, leaving no clues about their whereabouts or identity. This makes it the seventh…."_

_Hah! To deal with burglary at a time like this….they really can't catch a break._ Lez lightly chuckled as he heard the interesting news. While 'The Phantom Visitor' was an adorable name, he was more curious about how the police had no clue to work on. It was definitely unnatural to leave absolutely no clues behind when you're staying somewhere for an extended period of time. To leave even no witnesses…

_Unless…._

Lez shook off the idea from his head. His current focus was the Holy Grail War. He could not afford to get side tracked. So he turned off the TV before heading to the bathroom for a hot shower. He had placed wards all around the floor he was staying at. If it detected any abnormalities he would have at least a few minutes to react.

_Hopefully if anyone does show up, they'll be kind enough to wait until I'm done._

…

"Haaaaah….."

Inside, he had washed his face before looking into the mirror which caused him to subconsciously sigh.

The face of a fifty-six year old man stared back at him. His black hair was messy, with streaks of gray in some places. The bags under his eyes told him what effects the lack of sleep was having on him. 

His light blue eyes then subconsciously glanced at the large diagonal scar on the right side of his chest.

And he immediately closed them.

_["Daddy!!"]_

_Stop._

_["Welcome home, my love."]_

_Focus on the present._

After what seemed like an eternity, Lez opened his eyes. He then saw his knuckles had turned white due to clenching his hands so tightly.

_Relax._

_Focus on the present._

Shoving all thoughts away from his head, the old mage slowly released the breath he had been holding as he focused on the task at hand.

A warm shower.

* * *

**09:44:08 AM**

"Hey master! What's that giant box on top of that building which has people trapped in it??"

"Quiet down you idiot!! People are giving you strange looks!"

As he hurriedly dragged Berserker away from the curious onlookers, Linist Mare felt exhausted. His servant still had her eyes glued to the giant screen on top of the radio building, which was currently showing the news about the dead bodies in the old church. They had taken the money of the mages who died there before leaving and signed up in a run down hotel under false names. 'Siblings from abroad who had taken an interest in exploring Japan and it's culture' was the scenario Linist was going with. He had also ditched his old clothes before buying new ones.

Then berserker had the weird idea of wanting to buy new clothes as well.

"You're a servant!! Just go back to spirit form or something!" The young boy had shouted. But his servant would hear none of it. 

"Of course the clothes I was summoned with are of the best quality, but I'm interested to see how the clothes of modern times feel like!" Was the once feared warlord's reasoning.

And so, the pair had bought new clothes to mix in with the crowd of Fujisawa.

"Man Japan really improved a lot since I last saw it! If only I had the technology of this time back then…. I'd have fulfilled the unification in under a year!" Berserker loudly proclaimed as she let out a laugh.

Linist simply sighed before replying. "If you did I doubt you'd just stop with Japan."

"Fuhahaha! You might be right master. I'd probably aim for world conquest next! Oh well, it can't be helped! Putting that aside though, this view is really amazing."

Hearing that answer, Linist hung his head down even further before letting out another sigh. They were currently in a park located on a small hill, about a ten minutes walk from the radio building. It overlooked a little part of the city which seemed to interest Berserker greatly as she enjoyed the view. 

The park itself was mostly empty, which is why Linist was letting his servant prattle on without having to worry about anyone listening. The curtain of trees looked lifeless without any leaves and the ground was covered with snow. In such a place devoid of life, the woman known as Oda Nobunaga felt like an anomaly as Linist stared at her. She was wearing a gray full sleeves t-shirt with a blue jacket on top of it, which was currently not zipped. She also wore black jeans as well as a white cap on her head which gave her a very modern look. 

No one would think of her as a servant if they saw her like this. Nor would they think of her to be one of the three 'Great Unifiers' of Japan. 

Just an ordinary girl who's a little too energetic.

Linist did not know how to explain the scene he saw before him, with Berserker looking nostalgic as she stared at the scenery below. But one thing did come to mind.

The sudden arrival of Summer after Winter, skipping Spring in the process. Such was the intense aura she radiated.

"Hm? Something you wanna say master?"

Berserker noticed her master was staring at her and glanced his way.

"…Just thinking we wasted a lot of money because of you."

"Eh?! How rude! I'll have you know I was very careful in managing our war funds. Which is why I bought stuff that was cheap, but would also let us blend in with the people here easily."

_Huh so she didn't just buy things randomly?_

Linist then remembered that their total expense did seem comparatively low. _I guess she does use her head from time to time._

He then looked at his own clothes. A Black jacket which was fully zipped, with a gray full sleeves t-shirt on the inside, dark blue jeans and a black monkey cap which covered the head.

They were both pretty much wearing the same things, except the colour and sizes were different.

"I see you finally realized it." Berserker puffed out her chest and crossed her arms as she said it. "Of course, if monkey was here he'd probably manage the funds even more efficiently."

"I apologize. It seems I was wrong and didn't give you enough credit. You're not an idiot after all."

"Hahaha when you say it directly like that even my feelings get hurt you know! But you're young so I'll forgive you! Besides, I was called the great fool of Owari for a while anyway!" 

Having absolutely no shame in calling herself a fool, Berserker once again let out another fit of laughter.

Linist stared at her for a while before letting out another sigh. _How could she laugh so much under these circumstances?_

The young boy got up from the bench he had been sitting on before walking up to his servant and stood beside her. He saw the city of Fujisawa below him. Saw the view which his servant had described as 'amazing'.

He felt nothing.

Nothing but fear and hatred.

For he knew that this bright, cheerful view hid in her shadows a battlefield of non-stop bloodshed. Knew that he could die today or tomorrow if he took one wrong step.

And so he could not smile.

_No….even before that….I…_

Linist lightly grasped his left hand. At the moment it was covered by his jacket as well as a layer of bandages, but….

 _The burn marks…_

He had never wanted the things he had been given. To him they were curses, causing him pain and suffering for all his life. 

_["You monster!! Let these marks remind you of what you are!"]_

A voice rang out deep within his heart, from a memory he thought he had buried forever.

"To begin my conquest in such a beautiful city, I'm truly fortunate. Don't you think so, master?"

"Hm?…Yeah."

Berserker's voice brought Linist back to the present. 

"Your face looks kind of pale. Are you ok?"

It was then that he noticed the t-shirt he was wearing inside was drenched with sweat. It made for a real uncomfortable experience. But he ignored it for now.

"…Why did you tell the police about the bodies in the church?"

Instead of answering Berserker's question, Linist finally asked her the question he had in his mind for the last couple of hours.

After they had left the church far into the distance, Berserker had asked Linist if he knew anything about the current Grail War's masters.

He thought back on the conversations he had overheard from his captors. The nine mages had heard rumours that one of the masters in this Grail War had great influence in this city. But they were unsure of how much that influence extended to.

After hearing that Berserker suddenly asked if there were some way to contact the law enforcement force of this city about the mages she had killed. Linist had obviously freaked out at the suggestion, but his servant simply smiled before telling him to trust her.

So he gave up and brought her to a payphone. Before he could contact them though, Berserker had snatched the receiver from him and said, "I'll be doing the talking by the way!" 

Even more confused, Linist made a basic script for her to follow as she then relayed the information to the police. 

In the end Berserker never gave an explanation for her actions. Hence, the question had come out from his mouth, hours later in the park.

"Oh that?" His servant smiled before tapping her forehead. 

"That's what you can call strategy."

"Strategy?"

Berserker nodded. "If one of the masters truly has that much influence in this city, it's safe to assume that he has control over the law enforcement side as well."

Linist nodded in agreement. That definitely was possible.

"Since our army at the moment only consists of two people, we're heavily undermanned to take them on at their full potential. So…."

_I don't like the way her eyes are shining. And what army is she talking about? Since when did I agree to be part of her army??_

"The best thing we can do is create diversions so they'll be forced to divide their forces, thus leaving their main fort vulnerable. It'll make storming their headquarters much easier. Although I'm not sure how long that will distract them for…."

"I….I see."

Linist was genuinely Impressed. It seems Berserker truly thought things out. He counted himself lucky that his servant had not been consumed by madness, considering her class.

"So do you know where their headquarters is then?" He asked his servant, who had so far exceeded his expectations.

"Heh…" Berserker crossed her arms as she grinned confidently.

"I have no idea!!"

And consequently poured a bucket of ice water on Linist's expectations immediately.

"…."

Linist hung his head down again as another sigh escaped his lips. His servant, on the other hand, remained in her cheerful mood.

"Hahaha it can't be helped!" 

_Well of course it won't be that easy._ The young boy thought to himself as he pondered what their next course of action should be.

"I've got to admit though master, you look much more lively than before." Berserker continued to talk with a grin. "When I first met you, I thought I was seeing a living corpse!"

"Is….is that so?"

Was that really the way he had looked to the others?

"It's…it's true that I feel as if a weight has been removed from my chest." Linist subconsciously muttered out loud, unaware of having done so. "But…I don't understand why?"

Berserker quietly listened to his master before replying.

"It's probably because at the moment you're free. You're free to forge your own path and make your own decisions, and in the end you're responsible for the choices you make."

_Ah….so that's it._

"I'm…free."

….

…

..

"Yeah….it sounds nice." The young master quietly uttered the words which resounded strongly in his heart, before they left behind 'something' that filled him with determination to survive this Holy Grail War at any cost.

"Ah master! You finally smiled!!!"

"…Your eyes must be failing you Berserker."

"No way! I'm pretty sure-"

"Putting that aside, let's go back to our place."

"Eh why?"

"….I have to change my t-shirt."

And so with his confused servant in tow, Linist Mare walked forward towards his destination, regardless of what today….or tomorrow might bring.

* * *

**11:21:39 AM**

"So? what'd you find?"

Albert asked the orange haired man in front of him. They were currently sitting in a well lit conference room on the seventh floor. Besides them, there were five others who were talking with various people both inside and outside of the city. The peaceful morning Albert had envisioned today was nowhere in sight. 

And it had started with a certain annonymous phone call.

"Well it seems like the call came from inside the city, from one of the payphones. Although I'm not sure if we can figure out which one. The caller was a young woman who reported the incident. The nine bodies-"

"I don't care about that Mr. Tanaka. We can assume the woman is a mage and was the one responsible. The nine bodies in the church were probably mages as well. No other reason would someone go to that place covered by a thick forest other than using it as a hideout. So I'll ask again. What did you find?"

The orange haired man called Tanaka sighed before continuing.

"Well Takeda is already there. He's saying there were faint traces of magical energy. We also found this."

He then handed Albert a picture of an old, rusty katana. It was easily more than a hundred years old.

It also had blood splattered on it which looked more recent.

"The blood there matches one of the victims."

"Hmm…" 

Albert leaned back on his chair as he started thinking of possible scenarios.

_So…ten mages in total. One summoned a servant using the katana as a catalyst but then had a falling out with the others. So she killed them. But why report the bodies?_

"Takeda also said that he heard the police would be investigating this thoroughly." 

"Huh?? Why?" Albert was dumbfounded. It was a waste of time. You couldn't apply normal methods of an investigation in a case involving magecraft and hope to get anywhere.

Noticing the anger in his voice, the man named Tanaka squirmed. Unlike his partner who could stand up to the twins, Tanaka was not brave enough to try. He had been present when they cut open the old priest and so he had no intention of getting on their bad side. He hastily continued his report, "I-I told him to tell the police to bury the case and just give some false information to the media, but it seems the chief of police is insistent on conducting the investigation. His reasoning is that with Christmas right around the corner, not conducting an investigation would raise concerns about security."

"And we can't outright reject him?"

"We could but it would affect our relationship with them…"

_I see….so that's the enemy master's plan._

Albert once again leaned back on his chair. As much as he wanted to get them back to their previous duties, declining the police's request now would mean further complications down the road. But if he did accept the request, the manpower he could muster would also decrease considerably.

Then he noticed the five subordinates Takeda and Tanaka had brought were now staring at him. Their faces already gave away what choice they wanted him to make.

 _For crying out loud…_

"Haaaaah.…fine let them do what they want for now." Albert let out a sigh as he gave his decision.

Hearing that, Tanaka nodded to the five which caused them to once again call various people. The order had been issued.

Sensing he was not needed at the moment, Albert was about to get up and leave when Frederick slammed open the door, who seemed to be out of breath.

"Come to the surveillance room right now. We got a situation."


	7. Lancer

**December 24, 2018**

On a certain online forum.

**[linkster][12:14:56]**   
**[message deleted]**

**[agamemaster][12:15:04]**   
**[message deleted]**

**[linkster][12:15:17]**   
**[message deleted]**

**[biggusdickus][12:15:34]**   
**[message deleted]**

**[agamemaster][12:15:53]**   
**[message deleted]**

….  
…  
..

**[noobmaster69][13:47:32]**   
**wtf happened here? wht's with all the deleted posts?**

**[Alatron][13:47:58]**   
**First of all don't talk about the topic that happened a while ago.**

**[Alatron][13:48:13]**   
**not directly. Those who did had their posts automatically deleted and got banned.**

**[noobmaster69][13:48:45]**   
**u mean the thing at hotl 'T'?**

**[Alatron][13:48:50]**   
**yes**

**[noobmaster69][13:48:57]**   
**LMAO**

**[KazeSIN][13:49:27]**   
**I know the guy who's in charge of this site. Even they r not sure how those posts got deleted and users got banned. Seems some1 tagged certain keywords and are removing posts and users who use those words. Some1 from the outside.**

**[Alatron][13:49:59]**   
**I checked a few other sites. Same thing happened there.**

**[JohnSmith666][13:50:19]**   
**I smell some sort of conspiracy of a cover up.**

**[noobmaster69][13:50:57]**   
**Nah u smell ur stinky ass lololol**

**[Alatron][13:51:09]**   
**lol**

**[kazeSIN][13:51:09]**   
**Lol**

**[JohnSmith666][13:51:17]**   
**Fuck u**

**[BlakePePe][13:51:52]**   
**I think John's on 2 smthing. They hvnt released any info about it yet but mayb it's an attk?**

**[KazeSIN][13:53:24]**   
**Okay guys I got a message from the admin of the site. Some1 deleted his acc and took control of this site. I suggest u purge ur acc here asap. I'll be doing the same after this post.**

**[noobmaster69][13:53:50]**   
**haha nice try troll**

**[Alatron][13:54:17]**   
**rip. Ty for the heads up. Doing the same now.**

**[BlakePePe][13:54:38]**   
**Y did all these events hv to b now? First the church and now hotl 'T'. I had a Christmas date planned w/ my gf :(**

**[noobmaster69][13:54:56]**   
**If u had a gf u wouldn't b here virgin LOL**

* * *

**11:14:15 AM**

Shinzou Abe woke up with a start, only to be greeted by a severe headache a moment later. He discovered that he had been lying on top of a bench. The air itself slightly smelled of sweat and dust. He slowly got up as he rubbed his temple, now getting a better look of his surroundings.

The familiar rows of steel lockers reminded him that he was currently at work. 

_Why am I in the staff changing room?_

"Ugh…what happened? Did I doze off?" Abe quietly muttered to himself. A sudden jolt of pain flashed through his skull, causing him to flinch.

"Ugh!! What's….with…this damn headache.."

He shook his head, trying to get away from the pain as he left the room.

Just as he did, a shout cranked up the headache even more.

"Oi Abe!! Where the hell have you been??!"

The manager quickly ran to him before whispering, "The hotel doesn't pay you to laze around and do nothing! Where were you??"

"S-sorry sir. It's just-"

"You know what, forget it! Get back to work! Just because some woman comes to you for your help doesn't mean you get to jerk off in the staff room! You remember your current duties?"

_Huh? What woman is he talking about?_

"Uh…"

It was hard to think properly because of the headache, but Abe tried his best to recall what he was doing before he dozed off.

One answer then magically reached out it's hand.

"Um…I think I'm supposed to deliver some light snacks and coffee to room 608."

"Oh the one with the giant? Honestly foreigners are scary. How do someone even be that tall and get that much muscle….maybe I should start working out.…"

"Ha…haha…"

Unsure of how to respond, Abe simply let out a pathetic laugh. The guest staying at that room was certainly one of a kind.

"…What are you still standing around for? GET TO WORK!"

"R-right! Sorry sir!"

As Abe quickly dashed to get the required items another shout came up from behind him which caused him to stop in his tracks.

"Oi Abe! You look kind of pale. So take a break after this. We should be able to handle the rest."

He smiled and nodded at the manager before running off.

…

"Phew…"

As he pushed the cart of food to its destination Abe tried to clear his head, but he could not help but think about the weird exchange with the manager.

"What woman was he talking about? I don't remember anyone coming to me for help today."

_And I went to the changing room right afterwards? I wonder if that's when I took a nap…._

"Ugh no stop! All this thinking will just make the headache wor- huh?"

It was then that Abe noticed his headache being almost non existent. As if someone had turned off the 'pain' switch.

"Haha! I guess that nap truly helped!"

His mood finally getting better, Abe lightly knocked on the door labeled '608'. 

After a moment, a deep voice called out.

"Yes?"

_Uwaaah, that voice alone is sending shivers down my spine._

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Abe quickly replied.

"I've brought the snacks and coffee you ordered sir."

A pause.

Then the door slightly opened, giving view to a colossal man staring down at Abe.

 _EEEEEK…_

He quietly gulped down his fears before asking, "Can I come in sir?"

The giant studied him for what seemed like an eternity, before stepping aside and opening the door fully.

As Abe entered the room with the food cart he breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had left to do is leave the cart near the bed and leave. But before he could, the booming voice asked a question which halted his thoughts.

"Who sent the food for me?"

He slowly turned around to see the giant eyeing him closely, similar to when a beast watches its prey. He was in front of the door, blocking Abe's way.

"I'm…sorry sir?"

"I didn't order the food. In fact, I've set up a charm so that anyone about to enter my room will be redirected to somewhere else. Only mages should be able to enter this room. But you don't strike me as one."

_….Huh?_

_Charms? …Mages?_

"I don't understand sir…."

"I see. So you were hard coded to come here…but why?"

The confused hotel employee was just about to ask the giant to explain himself when-

"UGH!"

Abe cried out in pain as his skull felt like it split open. A second later, something inside his head snapped as blood came out from his nose and mouth. He slouched over, falling to his knees as he lost control of his body.

"Master!!"

Before he lost consciousness, Abe saw a man appearing out of nowhere. He stood in front of the giant, as if acting as some sort of shield. He seemed to be wearing some sort of green armour but Abe would never be able to confirm that fact.

For right then and there, Shinzou Abe's body and head inflated like a balloon.

And then promptly exploded with the intensity of a large bomb, enveloping room 608 in a fiery inferno. 

* * *

**11:24:41 AM**

"Did that get him?"

The question came from the girl watching the carnage through binoculars. While her tone sounded uninterested, there was a tinge of excitement hidden beneath. She was in her twenties, dressed in an elegant black dress as well as a silk hat of the same colour. Her long, black hair came all the way down to her back which, combined with her short stature made her look like a rich, sheltered princess. 

The truth however was far from it.

"No." 

The short reply came from behind her. The handsome man who had replied was much taller than the girl, his gaze was in the same direction as her. Possessing short, blonde hair that seemed to shine like gold, ominous red eyes that could seemingly pierce through anything and being surrounded by an aura that radiated charisma.

Everything about the man seemed to have come from those fairytales, where the knight in shining armour came to rescue the princess.

"My friends are saying that the servant pushed him out of harm's way just before detonation." The man continued. As much as chivalrous he appeared to be, he had been an accomplice to something no knight should ever experience.

"What about the servant? Did he suffer any injuries?" 

"I believe so. My friends say that his spirit origin appeared to be damaged. However, my guess would be that he will heal by today." 

The girl clicked her tongue. They were currently situated in a 'borrowed' apartment a few blocks away from the hotel. The resident himself sitting nearby in a comatose like state.

"Can your friends follow them?" The girl's voice slowly sounded more agitated.

"No. Due to my contract with them being very basic I need to be nearby to provide mana so that they may continue to exist. And the servant will definitely notice me if I'm nearby."

"Alright, we're killing them here and now then."

If there was no way to get additional information to plan for another attack then the girl simply had to ensure THIS was the final attack. So she voiced her thoughts before heading for the door. 

"No."

And was stopped immediately by the man, who held a long white spear to the girl's neck. Despite being completely covered by a black cloth like fabric, the material the weapon was made off was surely otherworldly, for it shone through the cloth, brightening up the dark apartment room they were in.

"Oh?" The girl let out a wicked grin as she glared at the man. "Is my servant threatening to kill his master because he doesn't like being ordered around?"

"I would've killed you by now if I could. To use the life of an innocent in front of me like that…!" The servant coldly shot back with an icy glare. "The only reason your heart still beats is because of that single command seal! Count yourself lucky."

The grin on the girl's face grew wider as she brought up her right hand.

There, on the back was a lone, red vertical brush stroke. Right Above it, two more diagonal brush strokes lay which appeared to have been smudged. A proof that two command seals had been used.

"Then do you suggest we spend our time in this Holy Grail War sucking our thumbs and do nothing? The master is vulnerable right now because he has been forced out of his base of operation. It's the perfect time to strike."

The girl gave her point of view to the man, who, still hadn't removed the weapon from her throat. She thought that after her explanation, her servant would understand.

However, after hearing his reply she understood they would never get along.

"That explosion will attract all the other masters as well. If we go after him now, there's a chance we'll be open to attacks from another servant. And I must keep you safe due to the order you've forced on me."

_You must protect me from any harm, even at the cost of your own life._

_You must do anything, to ensure your own survival._

These were the two absolute orders the girl had given to her servant. When she had heard the true name of her servant she knew he would never approve of her methods, nor would he agree with her goal.

So to protect herself as well as to bring the absolute best out of her servant, she gave these two seemingly contradictory orders.

"Aren't you one of the strongest servant in this Grail War Lancer? Don't tell me that a hero's pride is simply inactivity." 

"Before I was a hero, I was a king. Before I was a king, I was a knight. And it is a knight's duty to protect his master, even if I am reluctant to do so in this case."

The proud knight of the spear simply would not budge.

"What's with that clichéd line? Gross."

"…"

Not predicting this kind of reply in this tense situation, Lancer was unsure how to respond. The two continued to glare at each for what seemed like an eternity before the girl simply sighed before shrugging.

"Fine....we'll do it your way for now Lancer. He's long gone by now anyway."

"…."

Lancer judged the girl's expression for a moment before lowering his weapon which dissipated into the air soon after.

"You're….agreeing to do things my way?"

"Well you need the grail, and I need to kill that man. We can't fulfill our goals unless we work together. So I'm willing to compromise to a certain degree. However, I do have to kill another person which is part of a job and one of the reasons I came here. I hope you're willing to compromise as well."

"..…Very well master. I can accept those terms, I just don't want to needlessly involve innocent bystanders."

"I doubt the ones in charge of this city care about such things…."

"What do you mean…?"

"Nevermind." The girl waved her hand, signalling that topic was done before continuing, "Anyway I told you to call me by my name didn't I? When we're not near other masters or servants?"

"My apologies mast…..Lin."

"Right then let's get out of here." The girl called Lin smiled at her servant, whose face remained expressionless before he switched to spirit form.

_Still not trusting me huh…well it doesn't matter as long as I can use him._

The master sighed as she opened the apartment door. Glancing around one last time at her surroundings, she snapped her fingers before gently closing the door behind her.

…

"….H…huh? When did I fall asleep?"

The man in the chair woke up from his comatose state as he muttered to himself, completely unaware of the events and conversation that had taken place there.

* * *

**11:47:10 AM**

_I really was careless in planning things out._

Lin was already making plans for the next attack on the giant and his servant as she walked down the stairs. 

_He'll be looking out for people under mental suggestions from now on._

Which was problematic for Lin. As a mercenary who had used indirect magecraft to kill the targets assigned to her, mental suggestions was one of the methods she relied on the most. Lure an ordinary human, apply some suggestions on them to get them close to the target and the target would surely die without Lin ever having to be there.

If the person under mental suggestion could not kill the target themselves Lin simply used her family's special magecraft. 

She had made pills fused with her own mana which, once swallowed, would turn the host into a bomb for six hours. As long as Lin was within a certain distance, she could detonate it remotely. However, if the risk of killing was too great she could just wait and let the digestive fluids in the host's stomach dissolve the pill after six hours and erase all evidence. In the past twenty six assassinations she had used this method, it worked everytime, making the success rate a perfect one hundred percent.

Until today.

As she was back out on the street, Lin noticed the atmosphere in the area had turned colder and not only due to the weather. She however, never felt it despite being lightly clothed. Instead, she had only felt a deep hatred and anger boiling inside her ever since she came to this city. It kept her warm, and maximised her resolve. 

Meanwhile, rumours had already spread about the sudden explosion on hotel Triumph as people muttered to each other about the possible reasons. All heard by the young girl who walked through the streets.

Smiling to herself, the girl lightly hummed a cheerful tone, a process she had found to be useful for resetting her thoughts and focus while walking towards her hideout. 

_As much as I want to kill him, personal affairs must be put on hold for now._

She would play along with Lancer's whims for the time being. Otherwise there was a chance of things becoming complicated further down the road.

But when the time was right….

Her grin widened.

 _It's time to finish the contract I have been sent here to do. After that I can focus all my attention on you…..giant of the lost brigade!_

* * *

**02:26:51 PM**

"Ugh figuring things out from a map really is annoying!"

"Are young people of this era really that impatient? Honestly, you'd make for a lousy commander Elson."

The master frowned his face upon hearing that evaluation and glared at his servant who had made the remark.

"I'm sorry if I feel a bit tired considering I barely got any rest since coming here oh great strategist!"

Now it was the servant's time to glare back at his master. He was a man in his mid twenties, with short, ocean blue hair and pale blue eyes. He wore some type of black Eastern armour which was emblazoned with a golden crane at its center. Despite being young he had an air of seniority around him.

"Honestly! Kids of this era have no respect for their elders!" He exclaimed in a disappointed manner.

"Those words really don't carry much weight when you say them Rider, considering your current appearance looks younger than me." Elson took off his glasses as he let out a sigh. Why did glasses have to be constantly wiped in winter? 

_Such a pain in the ass._

"Also, how come you're using a younger version of yourself as your spirit origin?" He further asked his servant, who took the questions as a sign to take a break and leaned back, away from the map.

"Well...the spirit origin of the servant usually takes the shape of when they were at the peak of their life." Rider started to explain. "That's why in most cases, the throne of heroes creates a spirit origin whose appearance looks younger."

"But that shouldn't apply in your case. Considering-"

"I know." Rider cut his master off, knowing what he wanted to say. "The only explanation I have for that is that I may have subconsciously wished for a younger spirit origin. Or perhaps, I'd be registered under a different class if I was summoned in an older spirit origin. A class that has already been summoned."

"Huh…I guess some mysteries you can't solve." 

Elson, seemingly satisfied with that explanation, went back to wiping his glasses. Rider meanwhile stared at him. He had not been completely truthful with his master. 

Rider had an idea why as to why he was summoned in this spirit origin. It was also related to his wish for the Grail.

"And…there we go."

When he was finished wiping his glasses, Elson focused on the map once again that was placed between him and Rider.

The two had been in their hotel room since morning when they heard the news about the explosion at hotel Triumph. The police still had not disclosed any information regarding the incident other than saying that the explosion occurred due to an unfortunate gas leak.

_Very unlikely._

Rider then said it was probably an attack on a master hiding there, which Elson agreed with. So they brought out a map and had been circling potential hiding spots of the other masters.

"Well we've marked quite a few locations, but which one do we check first?" Elson asked Rider.

"How about the observatory?"

"The observatory?"

Rider nodded.

"We both agreed that it was an ideal base of operation. It's near the northern edge of the city on top of a hill which the locals call the 'Stargazer's Spot'. The area itself is fairly open. There's also a river and a small bridge nearby which leads to one of the residential area nearby…."

"So if anyone's hiding there, they can spot us coming as well as having a backup spot to retreat to." Elson chimed in.

_True, it made sense._

But…

"It'll be dangerous to fight on their turf then."

"I agree." Rider crossed his arms as he continued, "It'll really be difficult if the archer class servant set up shop there. Which is why we'll try to lure them to the river nearby, on flat ground and away from the observatory as well as the bridge. If we strike when it's dark, there shouldn't be any people around that area. However, if they don't take the bait we'll have to retreat and try another method."

"Sounds like a solid plan. You confident that you won't die Rider?" Elson grinned at his servant, who hearing the question grinned back.

"Hmph, to think even my master has no faith in me! Fear not, for as long as there's breath in this body I shall fight proudly even against a god!"

"Oi don't start setting death flags man! This is what's wrong with you old timers, always talking like that. Besides, summoning a god is near impossible in the Grail War so we won't have to worry about that."

"I don't know of this 'death flag' term you use but very well. Since we have a plan of action, let us move in three hours under the veil of darkness."

"Sounds good." Elson stood up before heading for the bed.

"Wake me up when it's time Rider, I'll take a little nap until then."

"Understood master." came the reply before the servant clad in black armour dissipated into thin air.

* * *

**06:03:22 PM**

As the sun went down, the city once again became shrouded by an atmosphere of dread. The winter fog seemed to be thicker than ever as a lone shadow walked slowly towards his destination.

"Not a lot of people as we thought." 

Elson muttered to the seemingly empty space beside him as he let out a breath of cold air. The chief of police urged citizens to celebrate Christmas indoors this year and requested that they stay in their homes for the rest of the year as well. Which prompted the media to assume the church killings and the explosion at hotel Triumph were somehow connected and that a psychotic serial killer was on the loose.

"We'll have to be careful then." The reply came from Rider who was currently in spirit form.

The two was a few hundred meters away from the observatory when Elson suddenly stopped.

_This is…!_

"So you felt it too master?"

"Yeah…. someone placed a ward here."

Elson felt his pulse quicken. The ward that had been placed would cancel out any noise made in the area it encompassed. And he knew the area it covered was large since they still hadn't fully reached their destination yet.

"Right, I'm going on ahead then. If all goes well you'll see me near the river."

Rider quickly materialised besides Elson, his eyes staring straight ahead. Each of his hands were holding a weapon. The left hand held a large greatbow while his right held a large katana like blade. Elson looked at him before putting a hand on his own chest.

_Calm down you idiot!_

The one who would be fighting and putting his life on the line was his servant, not him. As his master, it was Elson's job to share his servant's determination and trust in him. He took a deep breath before exhaling, felt his heartbeat slowing down.

"Alright. Be careful Rider."

Rider nodded as he dashed forward without making a sound. Elson looked on for a while before he ran to the right, towards the river.

He had a few minutes to set up while Rider stalled for time. Elson only hoped that he would be ready when that time came.

* * *

It was a one sided battle.

"Kuh…!"

Barely deflecting another blow which would surely bring his end, Rider quickly stepped back a few paces before firing off a single arrow with his bow. 

His opponent, the spearman clad in white lazily swung his weapon sideways, creating a shockwave of storm which blew away the lone arrow effortlessly.

"Phew…."

Rider exhaled a breath of cold steam as he carefully watched the servant in front of him, who in turn was doing the same. While he himself had suffered light injuries, his opponent barely took any damage.

"I thought I'd be killing only a single human, so imagine my surprise when a servant shows up." 

Saying that, the knight in shining armour pointed his spear clothed in black at Rider once again.

"While we'd no doubt have our duel with our names out in the open, you'll have to forgive me for hiding my true name."

"Do not worry about it sir knight. You're no doubt a warrior who deserves praise. It is simply the nature of this war that we fight under secrecy."

"I see....I'm glad."

The knight smiled at Rider as he continued.

"You're one who knows the worth of honour. Warrior of a distant age and land! While we may not reveal our true name, I hope you have no issues with me using my class as my psuedo name."

Hearing that, Rider simply erupted in fit of laughter.

"Heh! You youngsters really know how to get the bloods boiling of an old man! Very well! I assume you are Lancer then?"

"You're correct. I am however, unsure of what your class is. You carry a bow but you can't be Archer. You carry a sword but your strikes lack the impact to be considered a Saber."

"Truly a mystery isn't it?" Rider grinned at the man known as Lancer. _I need to figure out a way to lure him._

Lancer frowned. "So you refuse to reveal your class?"

"Before I answer that can you tell me one thing?"

"….What?"

"Why are you here? It doesn't look like this is your base at all."

"That's because…."

Lancer was silent for a moment, as if pondering whether to answer the question or not. After a while he seemed to have reached a decision, because he answered.

"My master has some business to finish in this place. Now will you answer a question of mine?"

"…Sure."

Rider was unsure what sort of question he would have to answer. But he never expected the question Lancer threw his way.

"Is your master a black haired woman with crimson eyes?"

"That's…oddly specific and direct."

_This might be the bait I could use._

"If you cannot answer the question then I'll take it as a sign to resume our duel." Lancer remained expressionless as he said those words, but Rider understood the weight of what they meant. 

_Answer or die._

"…Why not force the answer out of me sir knight?" Rider grinned as he replied, his hand gripping the handle of his blade tightly. 

"…Very well."

A fraction of a second.

The knight had closed the distance within that time. His spear thrust straight at Rider's heart. 

"Too predictable…!"

A thunderous roar shook the earth as the space around Rider distorted and dozens of cannon fire hurled themselves at Lancer.

At such close proximity, dodging was impossible. By the time Lancer recovered from the damage, Rider would retreat towards the river.

But Lancer simply took the cannon fire that hit him without slowing down.

"Wha-"

Even though Rider deflected the spear thrust with his sword, Lancer delivered a kick to his ribs immediately after, sending him flying.

Dirt and pieces of gravel scattered all around Rider as he barely recovered from the hit but Lancer had already crossed the distance between them, his spear prepared to deliver the final blow.

_He's too fast!_

Cannon fire once again erupted from the distorted space around Rider, this time double the volleys.

Instead of charging like before, Lancer stopped instantly and swung his spear in a sweeping motion which released another shockwave storm that fully repelled the oncoming fire.

But Rider had gotten his window.

He was already retreating towards the river, relieved to see Lancer following behind.

_I hope you're ready by now Elson!_

* * *

**06:49:42 PM**

Lin silently ran through the shadows as Lancer dashed after the unknown servant. While he could easily catch up to him and finish him off there was a reason he was being slow.

"Tch...so I'm the disadvantage in this situation huh…"

Lin clicked her tongue. If she still stayed near the observatory, then Lancer would not follow the servant. His first priority was the safety of his master. But Lin knew that they were close to defeating a servant. So, as long as they were relatively in close distance Lancer would not have to worry.

As her lungs screamed for air Lin saw that they had reached the river. A little further and they would reach the bridge which led to the residential area.

The unknown servant however stopped near the edge of the river. Lancer wasted no time in charging towards him. In response, the servant once again fired off another volley of cannon fire, this time the number being similar to the first instance.

"What's he hoping to achieve by trying the same trick over and over?" Lin muttered to herself as she watched the battle unfold.

Like before, Lancer simply charged forward as he knew that amount of firepower would do no damage against him.

And was blown ten feet away before falling right into the river.

Lin could not believe her eyes.

_W-What?!_

The unknown servant grinned as space distorted around him once again.

"You're certainly right in deducing that I don't qualify as an Archer or a Saber. O' proud knight of the spear! I am Rider! Remember it well, for this river shall be your grave!"

Suddenly, magical circles shone all around Lancer with a brilliant magenta hue, before he felt gravity being increased by a thousand fold.

 _Magecraft…!_ Lin stared at the scene unfolding before her eyes.

_I see. So Rider's master is nearby._

As Lancer was immobilised and struggling to stay on his feet, a large amount of cannon fire hurled themselves towards him.

The result was decided. If Lancer was damaged to this extent by the smaller volley earlier, then this would surely kill him.

But he could not let that happen.

For he had been given an absolute order.

"…..myniad."

No one heard it but the knight himself. He had not released the weapon's true power, but instead it would be better to say that he removed a single layer.

But that was enough. 

If the strikes it delivered resulted in a shockwave storm before, then this was a typhoon which devoured everything in it's path. 

The carnage was overwhelming.

"I'm surprised to see you're still standing…..Rider."

As the smoke cleared, Lancer addressed the battered servant in front of him. Rider's body was full of wounds. Blood was pouring out from every part of his body as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Are you prepared to give your answer to my previous question?"

"Damn….Y…ou…"

Lancer sighed.

"So be it."

Just as Lancer was about to deliver the final blow they all heard it.

A sound which should not be heard in a battlefield.

It was a soft 'thump', similar to when something falls to the ground.

In this case it was a grocery bag. The one carrying it had dropped it due to witnessing the events that had occurred near the river side.

As all heads turned towards the source of the sound, the witness quickly ran in the direction they had come from.

Using that distraction, Rider's body suddenly dissipated into thin air.

_Forced teleportation through a command spell!_

"Damn it! So Rider's master was nearby…!"

As Lancer regretted not finishing off his opponent sooner, a shout immediately grabbed his focus.

"LANCER!" 

Lin shouted at her servant from where she was standing. As he glanced her way she pointed at the direction the witness had ran off.

"She's the target! Move!"

After saying that she ran after the witness. Knowing that Lancer would soon follow. He had been injured but he could heal his own wounds due to his contract with fairies. But so far, today had been one failure after another.

_Could anything go according to plan today for once?!_


	8. Assassin

**December 24, 2018**  
**06:58:33 PM**

_Sorry grandpa…I might not be able to keep our promise._

The girl ran as fast as she could through the darkened road, which was faintly illuminated by the street lights.

She had always visited the observatory whenever she would feel down. She knew of a spot there where one could watch the beautiful starry sky stretching out as far as the eyes could see. It had become a habit of her ever since she came to this city. 

But that habit had brought about her death tonight.

"Hah…..hah….."

Cold steam left the girl's mouth and nostrils as she struggled to breathe. All the muscles in her feet were on fire as she felt that she was about to faint at any second, due to the lack of oxygen. Even her vision blurred a couple of times.

And yet the girl would not stop running.

For she instinctively knew that stopping now would mean her certain end.

Footsteps. Though distant, they were slowly getting closer. Was it one of the men near the river, or the woman who was watching them?

It did not matter. 

The girl ducked into an alleyway, hoping to cut through a shortcut and reach some place with a crowd. 

But her plan was halted at square one, for she had run into a dead end.

"Not good….!"

She frantically looked around for a hiding place but the alleyway was mostly devoid of any such spots.

"Will you give up now miss?"

A voice rang out above her. As she glanced at the source she saw the man from the riverside standing on the roof of one of the two storey buildings. His crimson eyes carefully watched her, like a beast stalking it's prey. 

Yet those eyes showed no form of bloodlust. Instead they were full of sadness.

"I don't know….will you let me go with a pat on the back if I say I will?" The girl shot back.

The man was surprised for a moment, not expecting such a reply. 

"You certainly don't appear frightened miss. You must have figured out I'm not what you would consider to be normal." 

_Yeah and I also figured out that I'll die now because I saw something I wasn't supposed to see._

Swallowing her fears, the girl smiled as she replied. 

"Well let's just say, this isn't my first time dealing with magecraft."

"….I see. It seems you also have your own star full of stories." 

After giving such a cryptic reply the man jumped down to the ground, blocking her exit. While the alley was wide enough, the girl doubted she could run past him.

"While it has no value, please know that I hold no ill will towards you. You were simply unlucky enough to be targeted, and I must kill you to reach my own goal. This killing is unjustified and you have all the reason to hate me."

He said those words with a pained expression, before materialising his weapon once more, which shone brilliantly in the dark alley even though it was covered by a black cloth.

The girl inhaled deeply as she stared straight ahead at her angel of death, who slowly approached her.

There was no way out. 

She would simply die here, alone.

She wondered how long it would take for the authorities to find her corpse. Would they ever figure out how she died?

Probably not.

_….Ah now that I think about it, the killings suddenly happening in this city is probably related to magecraft huh._

As death approached her, the girl could not help but think about such trivial things. She wondered if others had been killed like this too, simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The knight raised his spear, prepared to end it in one strike. He did not want to make it painful for the girl. She did not deserve it. 

_This sin will surely haunt me through the rest of my journey in this Grail War. But....._

_For my wish I…!_

As the spear came down the girl closed her eyes, accepting her death.

And then there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

…

..

.

"O' child borne of mankind's folly, open thy eyes."

Hearing a voice that chilled her to her very core, the girl quickly did so as ordered.

A world of black greeted her back. No matter where she looked, not a single ray of light could be seen.

"…Hello? Anybody here?" The girl asked. But her question was simply swallowed by the darkness.

There was no reply.

_I guess I died. Is this the afterlife?_

Just when she was having those thoughts a certain object came to her view.

A tiny speck of white in the distance. It was so miniscule that one could easily miss it if they were not paying attention.

_What is that...?_

As the girl squinted her eyes she could distinctly make out what the white object was.

A mask.

Or to be more precise, a white skull mask.

It appeared to be suspended in midair. Puzzled and with no other options available, the girl slowly approached it. For all she knew, she was dead and this was simply the process of her soul going wherever it was supposed to go.

"….Now what am I supposed to do…"

She had gotten as close to the mask as possible. But she did not know what came next.

_Am I supposed to wear the creepy thing or something? But I don't think I can reach it…._

Suddenly the mask moved on its own to turn towards her.

"…?!"

The girl was about to let out a scream when she heard the voice from earlier. 

It was directly behind her.

"For what doth thee struggle?"

_Don't turn around._

The girl forced every fibre of her being to focus on the mask in front of her. She felt like turning her head back now was the worst decision she could make. So instead, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before answering.

"Um….I don't understand. Do you mean why I ran earlier after seeing that scene near the river?"

"…"

The presence behind her remained silent. Taking that as a cue, the girl continued.

"I….I guess you could say I don't want to die. I made a promise to someone you see."

"..."

"Of course it doesn't mean I plan to live on forever! But I promised that I would discover the good things humans had done before I die. It's the least I could do for my saviour. But….I guess that won't be possible now…haha…ha…"

_Live Fillianore. Live and see all that is good in this world._

It was a foolish wish. But it was a wish she had strived for with everything she had. It was thanks to that person that she had been shown this wonderful life after all.

"Very well."

The voice finally spoke again, completely lacking any emotion. 

"What is thy name, child?"

"I-it's Fillianore." The girl nervously replied.

"Then by the will of heaven I shalt beest thy blade and thee shalt beest mine master. By the Grail's rule I discard the title of 'Grand' and all it bestows upon me."

Declaring his oath, the voice reached out it's hand towards the girl named Fillianore, who still had not turned around and was trying to figure out what the voice meant.

The hand went past the figure of the young girl and picked up the white skull mask.

"Attend and hear my name O' child of the living. I am the messenger of death who walks between the valley of life and death."

And then he put on his mask and declared his name, which caused Fillianore to shudder, for the name crawled into her very existence.

"Carve it into thy soul. I am the old man of the mountain, the first Hassan-i-Sabbah."

Fillianore could feel her once sealed magic circuits slowly activating again, as a strange red tattoo was taking form on the back of her left hand.

"The pact has been made. Use me as thou wish….contractor."

* * *

**07:11:41 PM**

It might have been an eternity in the darkness, but Fillianore found herself back in the alleyway as if barely any time had passed. The man with the spear was mere centimetres away from slashing her body in half.

And then a gust of wind surrounded the both of them.

"What…!"

A flash of blue streaked past Lancer as he barely avoided the steel sword severing his head from his body. But a moment later, six more slashes converged on him from seemingly nowhere.

"Kuh..!"

He twisted his body to avoid the slashes before dashing several feet away from the girl as well as the alleyway. 

And then he saw it.  
  
In the shadows stood a large figure clad in black robes and a black mantle. He wore a skull shaped visor which covered his entire face and wielded a large broadsword which seemed to have rusted in some places. The ground he stood on was rotting slowly. The only class Lancer could fit him under was Saber. 

The figure stood in front of the girl, who still had not figured out what happened in the last couple of seconds.

_Is this….fear?_

Lancer noticed his hands slightly shaking. Even though he had faced it countless times in his life, his body could not help but react this way. It was only natural after all, for this was the most primal fear of all living things.

**Death.**

The figure in front of him was surely a servant. One who had been summoned by that girl. 

_Is that why Lin got a contract to kill her?_

Despite the intimidating aura the skull faced swordsman gave off, Lancer was confident he could fight him on equal ground.

But that last attack had activated alarms in his head. Every fibre of his being told him to retreat.

"…..Heh."

But Lancer simply chuckled. As a heroic spirit who had braved countless dangers, he could only move forward.

"You certainly surprised me tonight, miss. I didn't think you'd be a master."

The girl looked at him with confusion.

"Um…what do you mean?"

_….Hm?_

Lancer was trying to process what she meant. But his thoughts were stopped by the skull faced swordsman.

"Knight of the spear, thou shalt lower thy weapon and return to thy master. The bell doest not yet toll for thee." 

"…Surely you jest. As a heroic spirit, it is my duty to overcome tough trials such as yourself."

This reply seemed to be the wrong one, as the swordsman's skull like eyes suddenly flashed a hue of blue.

"Hmph! Impudent welp, if ignorance is thy answer to survival then allow me to put thou to rest."

A burst of blue flames erupted under the swordsman of shadows as he vanished from Lancer's view. A tenth of a second later, steel clashed with steel as the two warriors parried and used every techniques in their arsenal to inflict a fatal wound. 

"W…wow…."

Fillianore stared in amazement as dust clouds formed from the impact of the two servant's duel. She was starting to wonder how no one else came to investigate the spectacle occuring in the middle of the street, when a dozen bead like objects scattered around the two fighters from above.

"Lancer! Get back!"

From the shadows a woman shouted at the knight of the spear.

"….!" The spearman seemed to realise something as he immediately did as the voice ordered.

A moment later, the very earth shook violently as the bead like objects around the skull swordsman exploded, swallowing him in a pillar of flame.

_No!_

The immediate panic in Fillianore's eyes slowly turned to relief when she saw a skull mask emerging out of the fire a moment later.

But then those eyes looked in horror as Lancer thrust his spear straight into the heart of the large figure.

"It's over." The knight muttered to his skull faced opponent.

"…"

However, what would be a fatal wound to anyone else only caused the messenger of death to flash his eyes more violently, before his figure burst into hellish blue flames which threatened to swallow up the knight in front of it.

"No way…! To not go down even from a pierced heart…?!"

As Lancer braced himself for the oncoming assault, the flames suddenly vanished from his sight.

"….?!"

It only took Lancer a fraction of a second to figure out where his opponent had gone.

_I was careless! He's not Saber at all…! He's….._

The knight of the spear cursed his own foolishness as he used godspeed to instantly reach his master, who still had not noticed her death right behind her. He had his large broadsword raised, prepared to bring it down right on her neck.

"The evening bell has tolled thy name…!"

And then he uttered the name of his noble phantasm, which would bring an end to this short battle.

**"Azrael!!"**

* * *

**07:11:41 PM**

"….Do you have additional tasks for me, master?" Caster monotonously asked without turning his head around, his gaze still at the magical workshop in front of him. He had been sitting here in the dimly lit room located in the basement level ever since he had been summoned. 

"Damn, it's like you have eyes at the back of your head. I didn't even make any sound." Frederick Feldan replied with a grin as he entered the room.

"That is because of these eyes of mine. They see everything in the present." Caster explained casually as he continued processing mana into some sort of ink.

"Oblivion Recorder…." Frederick quietly muttered as he looked around the room. There were stacks of paper everywhere. Some empty, others inscribed with letters of an ancient language.

When Caster had told the twins about his mystic eyes, the twins almost did not believe him at first. But then, as the old sage casually reported the daily occurrences happening all around the city with his eyes closed they had no other choice.

To observe reality in a given area without even being there…..it was a terrifying weapon for gathering intel. 

"So….you can see everything in the city as long as it's in the present time right?"

"…That is not entirely correct."

"Hm?"

"As I've told you and your brother earlier, those who can conceal their presence well can escape even my all seeing eyes."

"Oh right!" Frederick now fully remembered the explanation Caster had given. "So basically those of the assassin class can hide from your surveillance system, isn't that right Caster?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I know you're still busy with our previous request and all but we need the help of your eyes."

"You do not need to ask me for my help master. As a servant I am a tool simply waiting to be ordered."

"Then I'll cut to the chase."

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Caster finally stopped his work before turning around to face Frederick.

"Do you know what's happening around the residential area in block-C? It's near the observatory which is close to the northern edge of the barrier we've set up. We've suddenly lost all our camera feeds near that area."

"Yes. Lancer was fighting with another servant, I cannot however see who."

"A servant battle huh. Guess we'll tell the cops to keep their distance from that area then." Frederick replied and was about to leave when the words Caster spoke finally hit him.

"Huh? Wait, I thought you could see everything aside from assassins." 

"Indeed. but…." For the first time since he was summoned, Frederick saw a puzzled expression on Caster's face. 

"Ever since that second servant arrived….I cannot observe that particular area anymore. Almost as if…."

Caster was silent for a moment, unsure of how to continue.

"As if….my vision for that area was suddenly terminated."

* * *

**07:19:05 PM**

Lancer vomitted out blood as he was on his knees. His chest had been ripped in two, his body barely sticking together as part of his ribcage was visible through his cracked armour.

A few feet away, Lin stared at her servant with a shocked expression.

Just moments before, she had witnessed Lancer successfully pierce the heart of the skull faced swordsman. 

Yet, he had seemingly teleported to where she was all the while completely erasing his presence. If Lancer did not push her away, she would never even know he was behind her.

"I…I see…you're…not Saber....are you?" Lancer coughed up blood as he muttered the words under ragged breath. He lay in a pool of his own blood as he barely had any strength to stand up. 

"You're….Assassin…."

 _Assassin?! No way!_ Lin could not believe what she heard. 

_An assassin shouldn't be able to fight on equal ground against one of the three knight classes! And yet he parried Lancer's attacks blow for blow!_

It made no sense to Lin. 

_But…it would explain how he was able to get so close without me noticing._

Uninterested in continuing the conversation, the skull faced assassin simply raised his broadsword once more. 

…And then brought it down on the master of Lancer.

"Noble phantasm….unleas-"

"STOOOOP!!"

Lancer's own voice was overshadowed by another's shout. A moment later, a flash of red streaked towards Assassin as his blade stopped mid swing. 

Lancer forgot about his injuries as his eyes grew wide with disbelief. The order had come from the girl he was about to kill just a few minutes ago.

_A command seal order! Willingly or unwillingly she used one!_

"U-Um please don't kill them!" 

Another unbelievable request came from the girl's mouth.

"…As thou wish, contractor."

Saying that, Assassin immediately lowered his weapon before fading away into the night sky. One would assume he had left, but Lancer knew that was not the case. 

"…What are you planning?"

Lin finally spoke up. By now she had gotten over the shock of all that had happened. 

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that! Why would you stop your servant from finishing us off?!"

Unsure of why she was being screamed at, the girl put her hands up in a surrendering motion. 

"Um….I-I don't actually understand what's going on."

"Huh?!"

That made Lin snap even more.

"You understand we're your enemies right??! We were about to kill you!! K-I-L-L-Y-O-U!!"

"But….you must've had a reason right?"

"Wha-"

For reasons Lin could not fathom, the girl smiled at her before continuing.

"I don't think humans can meaninglessly kill each other. That's what someone taught me. And until I figure out what I got myself involved in…. I'd like to avoid fighting."

Lin was speechless.

_I've encountered an idiot._

"Plus grandpa always said that the best thing to do in a fight was to run away! Wait….now that I think about it, I almost died doing that this time….I wonder if he was wrong…"

_Now she's off in her own world. What the hell was she even saying?_

"Hahaha…. you're certainly taking this very lightly miss."

Lancer chuckled as he slowly got up as well, his chuckle turning into a groan at the end due to the pain.

"….You healed up?" Lin asked him.

Lancer shook his head as he replied. 

"I've stopped the bleeding….but it'll take time to fully recover. It seems we've been defeated this time master, so it would be best to retreat."

"Tch.…I already know that."

As Lin clicked her tongue Lancer turned again to face the master of Assassin.

"Thank you for stopping your servant when you did. You have our gratitude."

"Uh no! Don't worry about it! To be honest I don't actually understand what is going on…"

"I see….so the grail chose a master huh…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, pay me no mind! I'm sure your servant will explain everything to you in due time. But let me give you a word of advice…."

Noticing his master had already started walking away, Lancer lightly bowed to the girl, wincing in pain in the process, before dissipating into the night.

"…. Don't be so merciful next time."

* * *

_As the newly appointed master watched her enemies disappear into the cold night, the air surrounding Fujisawa grew even colder and stranger._

_The night was however, far from over._

_For in the opposite edge of the city, away from prying eyes, another battle was about to take place._

_But it would pale in comparison to the pandemonium that would follow before this long night was over._


	9. Saber

**December 24, 2018**   
**09:00:12 AM**

"Feels like I'm living the same day over and over again."

Yuji Nishida sighed as he wiped the furniture in the apartment he was staying in. It was a one room apartment of the Minase apartment complex located in block-B of the residential area of Fujisawa. Calling it a dump would be an understatement, since the owner barely spent any money to properly maintain it. But it suited Yuji fine because the residents of the place mostly kept to themselves, and he was someone who preferred to be left alone.

But nothing good lasts forever. 

"Alright, that should be good enough." He said to himself once he was done cleaning. He looked around the apartment one last time to see if he had forgotten to wipe off anything. While it was a short stay, this place was his home for two weeks. Yet, the room already felt alien to him. 

The twenty years old drifter sometimes wondered why he always felt detached from the rest of the world. He knew that he wasn't always like this.

_When did it start?_

"…Okay."

Feeling satisfied with his cleaning, he pushed those thoughts far away while picking up a plastic bag, which was placed on top of the table nearby. He checked inside to confirm that the packets of all the junk food and cup ramen he had eaten over the past few days were there. He would have to dispose of these in a nearby area.

_Room cleaned._

_Garbage cleared._

_….What else?_

He brought out his phone to check that it was fully charged.

_Already got my belongings on me….I should be good._

Checking off things on the to-do list inside his head, Yuji grabbed the backpack near his door. He opened the apartment door which would lead outside, to take a look if any of the other residents were around.

The area was empty. The people were busy with their same boring, everyday lives.

So, Yuji glanced at the room one last time before closing the door firmly behind him.

_Argh…. I'm freezing…._

Outside, the winter cold embraced him right away like an old friend. He decided he would buy a better jacket once he reached the new place he would be staying in. _This cheap piece of shit won't cut it anymore._

There weren't too many people walking around. With Christmas knocking on the door, the atmosphere in the city felt refreshing, excited even.

Yuji looked at the nameplate besides his apartment door. 

It read 'Mishima Anjou', the text almost faded.

Giving a short prayer of gratitude to the stranger's apartment he had borrowed, he went down the stairs and walked towards the main street.

A short ten minutes later, he was done disposing of the garbage and was looking for a cafe to eat in.

_No time to be picky in this damn cold…._

Another two minutes later, he entered the first cafe he spotted. The temperature of the interior slowly warmed him up as he took a seat in the corner. The place did not have much customers, probably because it was still somewhat early.

As he was waiting for his orders, Yuji decided to browse the web on his phone.

_Weather…_

_Sports…_

_…Hm?_

Everything in Japan was normal as usual until he saw some very recent news articles regarding the city of Fujisawa. 

_'Massacre in Fujisawa'….Wha..?!_

Yuji quickly entered the website the article was featured in. 

It appeared that the police had gotten a tip from an anonymous caller who told them that they had heard gunshots near the old abandoned church, which was a few miles away from the main road of the city. 

Yuji knew it was inside the forest which had garnered more than its fair share of haunted rumours, hence he did not bother going there. He continued reading.

Based on the call, law enforcement officials had rushed to the scene and found a number of dead bodies inside. The officials seemed to suspect that it was some sort of gang war. 

_Certainly not the most ideal of places to commit mass murder._ Yuji chuckled to himself. 

The article then went on to give its own conspiracy theories on the matter so Yuji stopped reading. As he put his phone back in his jacket, the waitress came to his table with his placed order. Fried rice and a cup of coffee.

Some might argue it was not the best of combinations but it is what it is.

The aroma of the food made his stomach growl. The waitress seemed to hear that as she let out a small giggle.

_Real smooth Yuji…._

As she was putting down the cup of coffee in front of him, the next thing that happened made her jump up with surprise.

"OOOH THIS IS ACTUALLY PRETTY TASTY!!"

"Quiet down you idiot!!"

It seemed someone liked the food served here a bit too much to the point that they attracted the attention of everyone in that place. But Yuji did not have the time to worry about such things, since the waitress had carelessly splashed the hot coffee on his jacket and pants due to the shout.

"Ah! I'm extremely sorry sir! I didn't mean-"

"I know, I know it's not your fault! Mistakes happen!" Yuji hastily stood up and replied to the girl, who was now constantly bowing her head in apology.

_Your head will fall off at this rate!_

"Uh listen…" He quickly continued, "Why don't you bring me something to wipe this off with?"

"Ah! At once sir!!" And with that reply the girl ran back into the kitchen. If someone timed it, Yuji was sure it would be some kind of world record for the hundred meter sprint.

Letting out a sigh, he sat down again and glanced at the direction the shout had come from. 

He saw two people enjoying their breakfast….or at least one of them was. She seemed to be a woman in her mid twenties to thirties, Yuji could not tell. She was dressed in modern clothes which gave off a boyish look, with a blue jacket, black jeans and a white cap. Absolutely clueless to what her outburst had done, she was chowing down on the dishes in front of her.

Her companion was a boy who was much younger than her, maybe around fifteen years old. He was mostly wearing the same set of clothes as the woman sitting across her. He appeared to be a foreigner, possessing light blue eyes and golden hair. Whereas, the woman seemed to be a native. The boy noticed Yuji looking at their way and nodded apologetically. _I'm sorry for this idiot's behaviour._

Yuji lightly put a hand up. _Don't worry about it._

"Hey master, if you're not gonna eat that can I eat it??"

"I told you to quiet down already! Ah! Don't just start eating from my plate, I didn't say you could!"

_Hm? Master?_

"I wonder what that's about? Then again, there's all sorts of weird people with their weird fetishes in this world." Yuji silently muttered to himself. "They don't look like siblings too. Hmm…."

As he was thinking about the matter, he noticed the waitress returning with a piece of cloth. So, he let go of that train of thought.

 _Well whatever. It's not my problem anyway._

* * *

**10:14:38 AM**

"Phew, thankfully it didn't end up being a stain on my clothes."

Back on the street with his belly filled and his mood lightened, Yuji walked through the crowds towards his destination. It seemed the church killing topic had reached the general public's ears by now as he overheard gossips here and there as he walked. However, it seemed the Christmas spirit was still alive and well as shops were busy decorating their place with vibrant colours.

Twenty minutes of walking later, Yuji stood in front of a gate which led to a relatively large mansion. He looked around to find that no people were nearby. The mansion itself also looked it was well maintained, but it seemed the place was completely empty.

"Good. Let's get to work."

His eyes focused on the lock which held the iron gate shut. Slowly a two digit number started appearing in his vision, which aligned themselves with the lock.

The number that appeared in this case was '86'.

"Huh, the place looks pretty clean for being empty for almost three months."

It took Yuji less than five minutes to pick the lock and push the gate open. As he made his way to the front door he glanced around to see his surroundings.

The place had a small garden, which did not have anything planted at the moment. He also noticed a shed, which he assumed was where the gardening tools were kept. As he approached the front door he focused on the door knob.

The number '86' showed up here too, making Yuji relieved. 

The place, for now was empty.

Another three minutes later he was inside the house. 

He slowly opened each door to get a general idea of what each room contained, being careful to not touch the door knobs directly when opening them. It was a large house, so he wanted to minimise the prints he left in this place to make cleaning in the future easier.

_Bathroom..._

_Bedroom…_

_Kitchen…_

_Library..._

Making a mental map of the entire place, Yuji finally sat down on the sofa in the living room. 

"Haaaah…."

He let out a sigh. Now it would begin again. 

The same life he had been living for the past four years.

While he was fine to be not in the limelight, the people of this city had a bit too much free time on their hands. Hence, he had come to be known as 'The Phantom Visitor' which Yuji found hilarious. People seemed to be fascinated by this enigmatic burglar who never actually stole anything, nor how he never left any evidence behind.

_It's all because of these eyes though._

He had possessed them ever since he had almost died twelve years ago due to an accident. 

He did not know how, but if he focused hard enough he could see the flow of time of any object in the form of numbers. It did not matter if the object was living or not, what mattered was how he observed it. How long something has been used, the last time something was touched….

….and even the remaining time of a person's life.

When he told his parents about it in the hospital, they simply thought it was the musings of an imaginative child. After all, the doctors had not found any abnormalities. 

_Maybe that's why I eventually stopped worrying about it._

And so he had kept this 'ability' to himself and grown up with it. It was difficult at first, with the numbers appearing almost everywhere. But even so he kept his cool and eventually learned to control it.

For he was a super hero who would save everyone.

Yuji cringed as he remembered his embarrassing childhood fantasies. 

_Ugh I can't believe I used to think about such stupid crap._

He quickly got up and headed for the bathroom for a hot shower.

_The same boring schedule everyday…._

_Why am I living such a life? What am I searching for?_

* * *

**11:30:17 AM**

The hooded assassin looked at the burning devastation from three kilometers away, through the scope of his sniper rifle. The explosion seemed to be limited to one room, instead of the entire floor. This told him that the bombing was targeted.

 _"Assassin you reached hotel Triumph?"_

His master's voice resonated inside his head.

_"Yes. I can't see anything inside the smoke, so I'm unsure if the people inside were killed or not._

_"Judging by your answer I'm guessing you think that place was the hiding spot for a master?"_

_"…The probability is very high."_ As he replied, Assassin heard police sirens in the distance. Their destination was obviously the place he was looking at.

_"I'm gonna ask just to be sure, but….you weren't responsible for this right?"_

_"…"_

_"Geez I'm joking! You need to lighten up!"_ His master hastily replied, unable to endure the silence.

After a short while, his voice came to life again.

_"Hmm well the cameras are showing a lot of activity near the hotel now. Seems the police will be doing their thing. You can't sense any servants nearby right?"_

_"That's correct. They are either watching the hotel from another vantage point, or they left."_

_"Gotcha. I'll see if I can spot anything on camera, you keep an eye on the hotel and let me know if you discover anything interesting."_

_"Understood. And if I spot someone who fits the role of a master?"_

_"Well you're an expert on identifying those type of people so feel free to pull the trigger."_

_"Very well."_

* * *

**08:30:17 PM**

_How did I get myself in this situation…_

Yuji clenched the grocery bag he was holding tightly as he looked at the five hovering rifles aimed at him.

Behind the rifles stood the weird duo he had spotted in the cafe earlier today, the cheerful woman and the apologetic kid. However, the air surrounding them felt different from before. It felt far more…sinister.

He recalled the moments from a few minutes ago.

He had gone to the nearest convenience store to buy dinner(cup ramen) and was on his way home when he spotted two familiar faces talking to each other.

"You really need to cut back on food! It's been a day and we're already low on money!"

"Fuhahaha it can't be helped! The food of this era is simply too delicious!"

"Why are we blowing money on something that you don't even need??!"

As Yuji walked passed them hoping they would not notice, the kid suddenly spoke up.

"Ah you're the guy from the cafe."

So Yuji had no choice but to stop.

"Hello…."

He noticed the woman silently eyeing him.

"Uh sorry about what happened there. My big sister can't contain her excitement too well when it comes to food." 

"Uh no don't worry about it…"

While Yuji had his doubts, he did not voice them out loud. He simply wished to end the conversation quickly so he could go home.

The young boy seemed to pick up on that, because he nodded apologetically again.

"Um…well that's all. Sorry again for today."

"No worries, no harm was done! Well…excuse me then."

As Yuji turned his back once more, the woman finally spoke.

"You….you're a master aren't you?"

"…Hm?"

As he turned around, he saw death staring at him in the form of five floating rifles. Not modern guns, but rather they looked ancient.

_Oh fuck, I'm gonna die._

"M…master?"

"Don't play dumb. I can sense the power of command seals from you."

"…Is that true Berserker?"

The young boy who had been mostly passive reacted strongly to those words. 

_What the hell is a command seal??!_

"…!"

As the two talked between themselves, Yuji subconsciously grabbed his right hand. 

_Are they talking about the tattoo that appeared during the shower?_

Yuji had not even noticed it until it was noon. A strange red tattoo with a mysterious design had suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the back of his right hand. Yuji was not sure when it had appeared, but he did not pay much attention to it. It did not hurt, and more importantly, he had already experienced strangers things thanks to his eyes.

"Boy, I don't sense your servant anywhere. Bring them out already."

"S…erv…ant?"

_What was she talking about?_

"…I see you need an incentive. Very well, that can be arranged." 

Something grazed past Yuji as he felt a slight stinging pain on his right cheek. As he touched the spot where it hurt, he felt the stickiness of blood. His brain then processed from the ringing in his ears and the blood on his fingertips that one of the rifles had fired off a shot which just barely went past him. If it had been aimed a bit more to the left, it would blow out his brains in the pavement right then and there.

Needless to say, Berserker aimed where she wanted.

A warning shot.

The gravity of the situation finally hit Yuji as his face turned into one of fear.

"I……You…."

He felt his legs giving out, as he fell on his butt. The contents of his grocery bag scattered around the road.

"P-Please….spare me…!"

"Seems like you scared him too much Berserker."

"Hmm…that wasn't my intention. Maybe he really doesn't know anything."

The young boy stared straight at his next victim. He knew the words he would say next would cover his hands in even more blood, but this was the only method he knew to survive.

"Enough playing around Berserker, if he's truly a master….kill him."

The mad warlord sighed as the five rifles aimed and fired at their helpless target simultaneously.

It took less than a second for the bullets to reach Yuji, before he could even let out a scream.

_I don't want to die…!_

They pierced his heart, blew off part of his head and torso as Yuji Nishida's vision turned to black.

* * *

…Or that was how the story was supposed to go.

**"Yawarakai-Te!"**

But instead, a gentle breeze blew around Yuji as he looked on with awe at the figure standing in front of him. Before he knew what had happened, the woman called Berserker suddenly spoke.

"To deflect those shots with only the force of the swing…no it was more like….they changed their trajectory on their own…heh not bad!"

Each one of those shots had enough magical energy to blast through large boulders, yet the mysterious figure deflected all five shots in a single katana swing. The strangest thing was that the bullets never even made contact with the blade itself.

"Why thank you! For a second I was worried that it wouldn't work though."

The figure grinned at their opponent before they turned around to face Yuji.

He felt all his fears fading away instantly.

For he was looking at a woman, a beautiful woman clad in a blue kimono which was embedded with a wavy pattern. She was somewhere around her late twenties. Her long, white hair was neatly tied into a ponytail which moved gently in the wind. As she saw Yuji looking at her she smiled.

"Sorry it took a while. I'm guessing you're my master?"

"Wha…"

The woman frowned as if she did not expect that kind of reply.

"Eh? I thought I did a pretty cool greeting. Ah! Don't tell me I messed up somewhere?!"

"Who…."

"Oh, me? Well, I'm the Saber servant of this Grail War. For now you can call me Saber."

"Saber…."

"Yep that's me! I'm sure you have a lot of questions but we can hold off on the introduction for later, for now we must deal with them."

As she turned towards her enemies Berserker let out a ferocious grin.

"Oh? Deal with us huh? For a mere swordsmith you sure talk big Saber."

In an instant Yuji saw the woman's face stiffen.

"You know who I am?"

"We may have not met personally, but I can say for certain that everyone in Japan knows your name as well as the signature on your swords. I even had one of them as a trophy."

"…"

"While I may not be a fan of ancient weapons such as swords and bows, even I could tell from one glance that the katana you carry was of the highest quality. You certainly live up to your reputation Saber….or should I say, Masamune?"

"…Oh well I guess the secret's out."

Saber let out a sigh as she lowered her katana. 

"So what will you do now Berserker? I'll tell you beforehand that I'm pretty quick on my feet. So I'll probably be within killing distance before you even manage to land a single shot on me with those few rifles of yours."

"How interesting…! Then let me reply in kind!"

One by one, several more rifles materialised in front of Berserker as Yuji and Saber both looked on with shocked expressions.

"H-hey isn't that a little too much?"

Before her, countless rifles hovered in midair as Berserker let out a roaring laughter. 

"If five rifles seem too few to you Saber, then how about five hundred? I wonder if you can still say that you will come out unscathed in this battle?"

"…" 

Yuji gulped down his fears as he looked at the kimono wearing woman. He could not see her face at the moment so he did not know what sort expression she was making. But he then noticed her gripping the katana firmly, as if coming to a decision.

_No…you'll die if you charge in there!_

No one could survive this. Having five hundred rifles shot at you simultaneously…it would take a miracle to deflect all of them with a single katana.

"Now….let us begin, Saber!"

"WAAAAAH! I'M SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!"

…

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

The three people present felt their jaw drop as they stared at the samurai who was now currently performing a perfect seiza, with her forehead touching the gravel.

"W-wait, hold on! Are you serious right now?" Yuji could not help but shout out loud.

_Where the fuck did the mysterious cool aura you had earlier disappear to?_

"Shut up! I'm a swordsmith, not a proper swordsman!! There's no way I can go against something like that. I was only putting on an act because I thought she was weak. You're my master right?! How come you chose such a strong opponent as your first battle! You idiot!!"

"Wha....what?!" 

"As punishment you should also come kneel down with me already!"

"Hey wait what are you-"

Before Yuji could protest, the idiot woman forced him to be in a seiza beside her. Despite how she looked, she was incredibly strong. Yuji could not even put up any resistance.

The young boy near Berserker was confused. This was his first battle in the Holy Grail War….or it was supposed to be. But the situation had become pretty bizarre. An enemy servant and her master was now in a seiza position before him. So he was not sure what to do next.

"Fuhahahahahahaha!"

On the other hand, his servant seemed to be dying from laughter.

"Hah….my stomach is hurting….this is just too funny."

"Berserker…." 

The boy looked at his servant with a disappointed look, as if saying 'can you take this a bit more seriously?' but the message was completely lost on her as Berserker proposed a ridiculous idea.

"Hey master, why not let them go?"

"….HUH?"

"It's fine. They definitely won't be able to kill me. Under normal circumstances I'd kill someone who's begging for their life this much. But I find killing someone troublesome when they themselves don't possess a single ounce of resolve. Plus with a weak servant like her, the master won't survive long either."

"You…..fine."

The boy let out a sigh. He had figured out by now that his servant was someone who would not listen to reason once they had made a decision. So he glanced at Saber and her master one last time(who had still not raised their heads) before walking in the opposite direction, his servant closely following him.

"Ah how about we grab a bite in the nearby restaurant?"

"You just ate a while ago!!!"

…

"…Hey they're gone right?"

"I think so."

"So…can we raise our heads now?"

Speechless, Yuji could only ask one question to himself.

_Could this night get any stranger?_

* * *

**09:07:23 PM**

Caster's face darkened. Under normal circumstances, he would probably feel a tinge of excitement as all seven classed servants were finally summoned. But something did not make sense.

There were more than seven servants in this Grail War.

Somehow the rules were broken, and now an even bigger ritual was taking place in block-A. A ritual that would bring about an existence that should not be allowed into this world.

But he could do nothing.

For he had not been given any other orders by his masters.

So the old sage continued to write his story in the dimly lit room, as he watched the horror unfolding a few kilometres away.


	10. Monster

**December 24, 2018**   
**08:59:47 PM**

The Narita apartment complex in block-A was one of the first housing projects in Fujisawa. Being five stories tall, the building had forty apartments in total. The place itself also had decent space, each apartment consisting of two rooms. As a result, getting lodging here was both expensive as well as difficult. 

Nevertheless, about twelve families and twenty seven single residents lived in the thirty nine apartments of this large building. The grand total of the residents currently here were seventy three people, including the four children and the owner.

Apartment 508 however did not have any residents. 

In fact, the person living there had not visited that apartment for almost a month. When the residents asked the owner about it, they had replied that the man living there had paid two months of rent in advance. It appeared that he had a business overseas that needed his immediate attention so he would be away for the month of December and would try to be back in January.

The residents knew that the man living in 508 was a foreigner. Although he rarely started conversation, he certainly had the aura of a businessman. So the residents had returned to their lives, satisfied with the answer.

What they did not know was that the man would never return to that place. He had been given forged documents to temporarily enter the country and then placed in that apartment under a false identity. For eight months he had lived his false life, waiting to hear the orders he knew would eventually come.

It came near the end of November.

_"The rumours have been confirmed to be true. A Holy Grail War will take place in Fujisawa. Do your job, then pull out from the area."_

So he set up as he was instructed. He placed the objects he was entrusted with in their respective place, drew the summoning circle, packed his things and then paid the owner a visit.

He told them the lie he was ordered to tell and then headed straight to the airport. He found that a ticket was booked for him and so thirty minutes later, he was in a plane back home.

These events all happened a month ago.

Now a month later, as the clock struck 9 PM, the laptop placed in apartment 508 lit up ominously, casting a shade of blue in the darkened room.

The shadows that watched Fujisawa behind the scenes finally made their move as words started appearing on the dimly lit screen of the small object.

* * *

[Executing file AIGS_1961.exe…  
Processing…  
15%…  
30%…  
45%…  
70%…  
80%…  
Processing done!  
Checking port connections…  
Activating device on port 80…]

At this point the small webcam that was placed beside the laptop came to life. A separate tab opened on the laptop screen which showed what the webcam could see, which in this case was a big part of the apartment interior.

[Locating summoning circle…  
Processing…  
15%…  
47%…  
86%…  
Processing done!  
97.2% match found!  
Opening file SI643.mp3…]

Suddenly a woman's voice could be heard in the room.

[ _"Heed my words, My will creates your body,_  
 _And your sword creates my destiny."_ ]

Needless to say, it was the incantation for summoning a servant in the Holy Grail War. There was however, no one in the room, and no one had magically teleported to that room either.

No, the voice that could be heard was a recording played through the laptop's speakers. Normally, a recording could never be used to summon a servant in this manner, for the incantation itself held mystic powers which when combined with the summoner's mana, anchored the servant's existence to this world.

A recording would never be able to achieve that. 

But the figures responsible for this unique summoning ritual had managed to find an alternative.

With the help of magecraft, they had managed to infuse the recording with enough magical energy to summon a servant. 

However, the anchor that bounded their existence itself would be extremely fragile. Not to mention the servant summoned would be a rogue servant, not having any master.

The figures had taken those factors into account as well.

[ _"Seventh heaven clad, And the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of Scales!"_ ]

The moment the recording finished, the whole apartment complex shook violently as a flash of lightning struck the summoning circle. A moment later, the windows of the room shattered as distant shouts could be heard. 

The other residents had felt the tremor.

"[---- --….]"

The webcam focused on the small black sludge that had taken form in the middle of the summoning circle, which was now groaning in pain. 'It' was confused, because a moment ago it had been in complete nothingness without possessing any shape or form. In other words, it simply did not even exist. Then in a flash, that changed as it gained things it had never been given, as if someone had pulled open the curtains and brought 'it' under the harsh sunlight. For an existence that never knew the meaning of life, this situation felt like being born.

And so, it did what all newborns do.

It let out a cry. A weak, but resounding cry which was proof of it's existence. 

[Scanning summoned servant…]

However, the significance of it's existence did not matter to the people who had summoned it. Only the strength it possessed mattered.

[Servant origin….unknown.  
All parameters are below minimum requirement...  
Rejecting plan A…  
Rejecting plan B…  
Rejecting plan C…  
Rejecting plan D…  
Executing plan E…  
Processing…  
28%…  
46%…  
79%…  
95%…  
Processing done!  
Switching to voice module…]

…

[…."Hello. Can you hear me?"]

A mechanical voice monotonously asked the black 'something' which was still lying within the circle. It weakly looked at the source of the sound, which was the laptop.

["I see. Despite not possessing humanoid features, your spirit origin at least has the knowledge of human language."]

"….uu….uh…"

["It seems your spirit origin is severely unstable. By my calculation, you only have a minute or so before you will disappear."]

"…! ….uUuuUU…..aaAaa…"

Hearing that, the black sludge frantically tried to move around. However, it simply made things worse as a piece of its body cracked and disappeared right away.

["Do not struggle. My superiors have taken considerable steps to make sure we reach this stage. As their creation, I certainly cannot let them down….or that is what my programming tells me."]

The mechanical voice said words that made no sense to the black sludge. It was going to disappear soon after all. There was no reason to listen to that voice.

["Now....onto saving your existence."]

Then the voice spoke such words. 

["On your left, you will see a bed which has a suitcase with a mechanical lock on it. I will be unlocking it now."]

After a few more texts appeared on the laptop screen, the object on top of the bed opened just as the voice had said it would. As soon as it opened however, the black sludge shuddered. 

It had sensed the 'horror' that was contained within that case. Whatever it was, it could only bring death and destruction.

["I noticed that you seem to be shaking somewhat. You have no need to worry. The owner of the object might've been worthy of that fear, but it is not around anymore. We had sacrificed five thousand three hundred and seventy two soldiers to ensure that it died, or rather a part of it died before it retreated from our world. Now you will be devouring that part we had managed to severe and retrieve."]

"….!"

The black sludge flinched as it heard those words. 

["You have no choice, unless you wish to disappear in a few seconds."]

The black sludge did not want that. The existence it had been given, the feelings it had been given…it wanted to experience those things it had gained even more. 

So, it crawled up on top of the bed and bit into the pulsating organ located in the case.

As soon as it did so, it felt a foreign substance invading its mind.

["I see you're consuming the heart of the unknown entity my creators encountered. Based on the data I've been given, it seems they detected a strange signal near the restricted space of area 51 on May 4th, 2002. A QRF was dispatched immediately to the area, but they were almost instantly killed in action."]

The mechanical voice went on about the history of the object that was now trying to take over the existence of the black sludge, completely ignoring it's cries of pain. However, it was not a living being so emotions could never be expected from it.

By now, the black sludge was no longer shapeless. But rather, it had taken the form of a small black cat. It was still crying in agony and twisted its body in pain, but even then it continuously bit into the heart, consuming it little by little.

…

..

.

Seconds turned into minutes as the cries of pain eventually turned to silence.

["Hm…it seems your spirit origin has become somewhat more stable."]

"…"

The figure stayed silent as they looked at their appearance.

The black sludge was nowhere to be seen. In its place now stood a young girl who was not more than ten. She wore torn rags which barely covered her body, her green, cat like eyes now inspecting the apartment more thoroughly. Her short, white hair slightly moved as she turned her head to look at the different objects in the room. 

Suddenly, unknown images flooded into her head. Memories from a different time, memories of someone else.

A golden city. A green haired man. A veiled woman. The back of a gold haired man. The smiling faces of the people living in that eternal city. And finally….

His unending treasury.

["What class have you been summoned under?"]

Broken from her thoughts, the young girl looked at the laptop once again.

"C….l…a….s..s….d..on't….kn…ow...."

["Oh? You can talk properly now?"]

"Ta..lk…?…..ye…s….these….are…wo…rds."

The girl stuttered here and there in her sentence, as if still not fully accustomed to speaking.

["Well let me be the first one to congratulate you then. However, we must move to the second phase of our plan now. Your existence is still not stable yet."]

"…Wh..at….you…m…ean??"

The girl brought her face close to the laptop screen, as if the words written there would give her some sort of answer.

["Well the unknown object that you devoured simply gave you a temporary source of magical energy which anchors you to this world. However, you do not have a proper master so that magical energy will run out in twenty four hours and you will disappear once again."]

"No…! D....on't…want…th…at..!!"

["Then all you have to do is follow my instructions. As long as you do, we can win the Holy Grail and you can wish for unlimited magical energy."]

It was a lie of course. The rogue servant would die before she got her hands on the Grail. But the program did not know that. It was simply coded to use that message in this situation. Its creators only needed the rogue servant's cooperation.

"O…kay…"

["Very well, then first let us introduce ourselves. I am an AI unit created solely to participate in this Holy Grail War on behalf of an organisation working for the US government. The department I'm from overlooks the magecraft sector."]

"U…uhhh….uh?"

The girl simply tilted her head to one side, not understanding any of it.

["Well don't worry about it too much. The name I was given is Artificial Intelligence Grail Surveillance system or the AIGS system for short. I would appreciate it if you referred to me as Aegis from now on."]

"Aegis…."

["Indeed. What about you? What is your name?"]

The girl thought for a moment before answering.

"No...name….Father…n..ot give..one.."

["Is that so. And do you know your father's name?"]

The girl nodded before saying it.

["Ah I see. So that's your true identity. Very well, then let me give you a proper name to celebrate your birth. From now on you will be known as-"]

And then Aegis gave the rogue servant her new identity. She did not know what it meant. But the very act of being given a name filled her heart with a warm feeling she could not describe.

["----Monster."]

"I....have..…n…ame…"

She smiled at the voice who had given her a proper identity, and who said would help her to keep her existence in this world.

"Tha...nk….you…."

["……….Now that the introduction is out of the way, let us collect the first sample of magical energy. Put on the headset you see besides the laptop and then leave the apartment."]

The young girl silently nodded before doing as ordered.

["Can you hear me, Monster?"]

"Y…es…"

["Good. I've disabled the entire surveillance system in the city, so that will give us time to get what you need."]

"Wha...t…I...ne…ed?"

By now, Monster was outside apartment 508. As soon as she was, she saw a bunch of people in same floor. They were silently talking to themselves. As soon as they saw her however, their eyes went wide with surprise.

"Hey! Did that girl just come out of 508?!"

"Yes! Hey landlord I thought it was supposed to be empty!"

"I-I don't know what to say…Mr. Smith never told me about any child living with him…!"

"And look she's barely clothed…! Hey was that guy into some shady business??"

"I always knew something was wrong with him! My instincts are never wrong!"

The crowd excitedly gossiped between themselves as they occasionally glanced at the young girl that had supposedly come out of an empty room. She however paid no attention to what they said. She would only listen to the voice of Aegis.

Because in her eyes Aegis was the only ally she had in this world.

["Very well Monster, it's time you had your first meal."]

"Mea…l?"

["Indeed. There seems to be seventy three people living in this apartment complex. While devouring average humans don't give a lot of magical energy, this should extend your lifespan by a bit."]

"Uuuh…un…der….stood…"

The young girl slowly approached the crowd who were still whispering to each other. When they saw her coming closer, they nervously looked at each other, unsure of how to act in this kind of situation.

Of course, it did not matter what they did. 

For the next words the girl muttered would be the last thing they ever heard.

One man pushed aside the crowd as he stopped in front of the young girl. He was a doctor, so after seeing her appearance, he felt that he needed to help her. 

"Hello! I'm not going to hurt you. Could you tell me why you were in that room?"

"…"

"Listen you don't have to be scared. We're all here to help. Could you at least tell us your name? Was the man living in that apartment related to you?"

The man smiled gently as he put a hand on the young girl's head. 

["Now, Monster."]

A second later, a streak of gold flashed past the young girl and pierced the man straight through his heart. The force itself knocked him back several feet into the air before he fell in an awkward position to the ground, with a hole in his chest and blood pouring out of it non-stop.

The crowd stood there frozen with a blank expression. Something unbelievable just happened in front of their eyes, something their brain had not processed yet.

Golden portals appeared behind Monster as her vibrant green eyes turned crimson. A second later, Swords, spears, scythes of different ages slowly peeked out from them. 

"Noble….phan…tasm…unl…eash--"

In a single moment, this seemingly peaceful night in Fujisawa was thrown into pandemonium.

**"Gate….of…Babylon…!"**


	11. Servant Profiles - 1

**Saber**  
 **True Name** : Goro Masamune  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Good/Chaotic Idiot  
 **Height/Weight** : 168cm/49kg  
 **Gender** : Female  
 **Master** : Yuji Nishida

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : B+  
 **END** : C  
 **AGL** : A  
 **MP** : D-  
 **LCK** : B-  
 **N.P.** : A++

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Smithing(Sword) A++_ : Combined with her territory creation skill, she can almost instantly materialize swords she had created in her lifetime. Even though the skills she had achieved as a blacksmith had long since reached the realm of gods, she herself does not believe that fact. As a result, all created weapons suffer a rank down.

**Class Skills**   
_Magic Resistance B_

_Territory Creation B_ : "A blacksmith's lifeline is their forge!" or so she says. As a result, she carries her workshop wherever she goes. The workshop itself is stored in another dimension of course.

 **Noble Phantasm**  
 _ **Divine Wind, Banish All Evil : Yawarakai-Te**_  
 _Rank_ : C+  
 _Type_ : Anti Army  
 _Range_ : 1~50  
 _Maximum Targets_ : -  
One of the many swords forged by Masamune. The edge of this beautifully designed katana is dulled intentionally, which makes it unusable for killing. The swing of the blade will not draw blood, but rather release a gentle breeze which drives away 'attacks with killing intentions' or evil karma. In that sense, it can be considered a defensive noble phantasm as well. However, attacks which can conceal their killing intent or attacks with overwhelming power will still go through. 

* * *

**Archer**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : Chaotic Neutral  
 **Height/Weight** : 186cm/75kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master** : Lez Velikan

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : B  
 **END** : A  
 **AGL** : B+  
 **MP** : E  
 **LCK** : D  
 **N.P.** : B++

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Clairvoyance A_ : Eyes that grant extremely good vision, allowing to see far distances. At 'A' rank, even future sight(prediction) as well as mind reading becomes possible to an extent.

**Class Skills**   
_Magic Resistance C_

_Independent Action B_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**Lancer**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Good  
 **Height/Weight** : 185cm/88kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master** : Lin

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : B  
 **END** : C+  
 **AGL** : C~A  
 **MP** : C  
 **LCK** : D+  
 **N.P.** : A+

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Charisma B_ : The skill to command or unify an army or country. Greatly boosts the abilities of one's allies.

 _Fairy Contract D_ : A contract binding three fairies to Lancer. Due to the contract itself being basic in nature, they cannot physically manifest in the world itself and must use Lancer himself as an anchor to exist in spirit form. The effects granted from this contract are- Immunity from physical and magical attacks up to rank C, boost to one's agility and basic recovery magecraft. However, due to one of the fairy's connection being severed by Assassin, the first effect has been nullified.

**Class Skills**   
_Magic Resistance C_

_Riding B_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**Rider**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Good  
 **Height/Weight** : 175cm/78kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master** : Elson Brewer

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : C  
 **END** : C  
 **AGL** : C+  
 **MP** : B-  
 **LCK** : E  
 **N.P.** : A++

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Military Tactics A_ : Proof of one's exemplary strategical experience during war. Thus, boosts one's ability not in one versus one battles, but rather when the battle involves many. Enables the skill's owner to evaluate the terrain during battle and use it to their advantage. Also boosts one's parameters when using Anti Army Noble Phantasms/Defending against other's Anti Army Noble Phantasms.

 _???_ : Greatly boosts all parameters except magic power and luck. Conditions unknown.

**Class Skills**   
_Magic Resistance D+_

_Riding A_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**Caster**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : True Neutral  
 **Height/Weight** : 168cm/48kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master(s)** : Frederick Feldan/Alfred Feldan

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : E  
 **END** : E  
 **AGL** : E  
 **MP :** A++  
 **LCK** : D  
 **N.P.** : EX

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Oblivion Recorder A_ : A rare form of mystic eyes which allows it's owner to witness everything in a given area. The range of this skill depends on the magical energy they are provided as well as the territory they have under their control. With enough mana, even a whole city could be under surveillance. Unlike Clairvoyance however, only the present time can be witnessed. The effects of this skill can be negated by Presence Concealment skill of similar or higher rank.

**Class Skills**   
_Magic Resistance A+_

_Territory Creation EX_

_Item Construction A_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**Assassin**  
 **True Name** : Hassan - i - Sabbah  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Evil  
 **Height/Weight** : 220cm/??kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master** : Fillianore

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : B  
 **END** : A  
 **AGL** : B  
 **MP** : E  
 **LCK** : E  
 **N.P.** : A

 **Personal Skills**  
 _Uncrowned Arms Master_ : The rank of one's parameters appear to be one degree lower than they originally are to the opponent. If the true name is revealed, the effect is cancelled.

 _Battle Continuation EX_ : Due to walking at the boundary of life and death for so long, it has become uncertain if his existence is alive or dead. As a result, even if he receives a fatal wound or loses half of his body, he will continue to fight his enemy as if he was in perfect health.

**Class Skills**   
_Presence Concealment A_

_Magic Resistance B_

_Independent Action B_

**Noble Phantasm**  
 _ **Angel That Announces Death : Azrael**_  
 _Rank_ : C  
 _Type_ : Anti Personnel  
 _Range_ : 1  
 _Maximum Targets_ : 1  
The rusty, old broadsword wielded by the Old Man of The Mountain. Though the broadsword he wields is completely devoid of any magical properties, it has been stained with the faith of its owner in the course of his lifetime. Being a sword borne by a man who walks the boundaries of the "Shadowed Valley", its edge can potentially impose the concept of 'End' even with the slightest cut. Furthermore, though the probability is low, the imposition of death can affect an opponent of any strength or stature.

* * *

 **Berserker**  
 **True Name** : Oda Nobunaga  
 **Alignment** : Lawful Evil  
 **Height/Weight** : 152cm/43kg  
 **Gender** : Female  
 **Master** : Linist Mare

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : C  
 **END** : B  
 **AGL** : C  
 **MP** : B  
 **LCK** : B  
 **N.P.** : E~EX

**Personal Skills**   
_Strategy B_

**Class Skills**  
 _Madness Enhancement C_ : Due to unknown circumstances, this skill has been sealed. As a result, she can communicate properly with others. However, parameter bonuses she would gain from this class are also sealed for the same reason.

_Magic Resistance B_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**assassin**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : ???  
 **Height/Weight** : 175cm/63kg  
 **Gender** : Male  
 **Master** : ???

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : D  
 **END** : C  
 **AGL** : A+  
 **MP** : C  
 **LCK** : E  
 **N.P.** : B++

**Personal Skills**   
_Magecraft B_

**Class Skills**   
_Presence Concealment A+_

_Independent Action A_

**Noble Phantasm**   
_Unknown at this time_

* * *

**Monster**  
 **True Name** : ???  
 **Alignment** : ???  
 **Height/Weight** : 140cm/37kg  
 **Gender** : Female  
 **Master** : AIGS-1961(Aegis)

 **Parameters**  
 **STR** : A (Originally E)  
 **END** : EX (Originally E)  
 **AGL** : B+ (Originally E+)  
 **MP** : D-  
 **LCK** : -  
 **N.P.** : EX

**Personal Skills**   
_Morph B(Cat)_

_Blessings of the Unknown A+_ : A unique skill granted due to the consumption of the unknown heart. Greatly boosts all parameters of the owner to their maximum potential. 

_Authority Over the Unknown EX_ : A unique skill granted due to the consumption of the unknown heart. The owner is randomly assigned a psuedo noble phantasm and all related knowledge every 2 days by forcefully hacking their consciousness into the throne of heroes. But the copied noble phantasm's rank is also decreased by a random amount.

**Class Skills**   
_Mana Regeneration B_

_Domain of the Unknown A+++_ : Due to consuming the unknown heart, her spirit origin has been severed from the throne of heroes in this Grail War. Thus, mana consumption is doubled to maintain the spirit origin core.

 **Noble Phantasm**  
 _ **The King's Treasure : Forged Gate of Babylon**_  
 _Rank_ : E~C  
 _Type_ : Anti Unit  
 _Range_ : 1~999  
 _Maximum Targets_ : 1~999  
The storehouse that housed all the treasures of humanity's oldest king. The noble phantasm connects reality with the space they are stored in, allowing it's user to unleash the treasures on their opponent. Due to being a forged noble phantasm, the user can only use treasures up to C rank.


	12. Some Words From The Writer!

Hello future me! Believe it or not, you've been writing this shitty story for 9 months now (maybe a bit longer since you started writing the draft in November). Not bad! Since you've stuck with the story up to this point you better finish it! Anyway…that's pretty much it. The next part is for the other readers so piss off!

Oh and don't give up!

\---

Now....to the readers who have been reading this as it's being published, or the readers who might've accidentally stumbled upon this long after it's been finished-

First of all, allow me to express my gratitude for sticking around up to this point.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Frankly, I never expected my story to be liked by anyone other than myself. Mostly because I don't think I've done a good job writing it. But people are enjoying it no matter how little it may be, so it certainly makes me happy. And now 9 months later, here we are! All the pieces of the board have been introduced. But who becomes the king and who are the pawns? Only time will tell. 

The reason I posted this and the servant profile is because this is the end of part 1. For those of you who reads light novels, you can also call this the end of volume 1. So expect these segments after every 6-8 chapters(Or less who knows!).

Now let's talk a bit about the story and the origin behind it.

Why did I start writing Fate/False Void? Well…mostly to keep my mind off of things. The last four months of 2019 was a bit of a low point for me. I had experienced things that I felt were crushing me. So, near the middle of November I started writing a rough draft of an untitled story based on the fate series. It was VERY poorly written, with mistakes everywhere and some plotlines not even making sense. But it gave me a little peace of mind since I could myself busy.

The times went by and December came, and I somewhat had a decent sized draft by now. I still hadn't decided to write the story in its full detail until December 31st. The Fate/Strange Fake trailer dropped and after watching it, I felt a sudden urge of motivation to write the story. I don't know if it was the song, or the visuals…but that trailer gave me the push to start Fate/False Void. 

Of course, the story now has become pretty different from the original draft I wrote. The most difference is for the servants Lancer and Saber. Originally, Lancer was supposed to be Achilles. But after thinking about it, he had already been greatly explored in Apocrypha. So I decided to use this mysterious Lancer instead. Well I say mysterious but there already are some hints to his identity aren't there?

Now for Saber. This servant underwent so many changes it's crazy! Originally the Saber servant for this Grail War was supposed to be a male Attila, the king of Huns. I wrote the servant profile and the chapter and everything. But then I thought that his abilities are not too different from Altera who's already introduced in other fate installments. So I scrapped the chapter and worked on a new Saber.

The next candidate was Tsukahara Bokuden, who, after reading about him seemed to be as much of a badass as Miyamoto Musashi. But, his abilities would not mesh well with the scale of the Grail War in Fujisawa which is why I had to scrap that idea as well. Maybe he'll show up in another story in the future! So after them, we have the current Saber who I hope the readers will come to like as the story goes on. ~~I won't lie, I remembered a certain blue haired useless goddess from another series when I wrote her servant profile and her details.~~

Servant Monster was not even in the original draft. Her concept came to me around the time chapter five was published. But it wasn't until chapter seven that I finished her servant profile. She's definitely a wild card(including her 'master') with top notch abilities, hence she has the mana restrictions to balance her out. If she uses too much magical energy, she will disappear. So she can't go all out….yet.

Regarding the masters themselves, almost every one of them have a motivation to participate in this War which will be revealed as the story progresses. Will they resonate with everyone? Probably not. But in their point of view, that motivation is just. Fate/False Void will be a story about people, not their ideals. That was the theme I had in mind when writing this story and hopefully it will be that way by the end.

Hmm…that's pretty much it for now. I don't know what else to say. Huge thanks to Rumieru for suggesting me this site. They also have written some stories on FGO so check those out!

Uh…well since I don't know how to end this segment let me give some background info about the world this story takes place in. It won't affect your reading experience in any way even if you don't know it but think of it as some extra flavour for world building. Those who've not watched Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night : Unlimited Bladeworks and Fate/Apocrypha should stop reading because there will be some spoilers. So just scroll down to the bottom to avoid any spoilers.

* * *

  
The events of Fate/Zero was slightly altered as Emiya Kiritsugu never took part in the fourth Holy Grail War on behalf of the Einzberns and continued to be a mercenary. As a result, the great fire of Fubuki never occurred. The Grail War also ended without a proper victor.

Due to not being adopted by Kiritsugu, the boy named Shirou would never take part in the fifth Holy Grail War. He would however, eventually come into contact with magecraft and later work as a mercenary. The fourth Holy Grail War would be won by a mage of the Tohsaka family despite being teamed up six to one. Instead of using it for a wish however, the Grail would be quietly dismantled.

The events of Fate/Apocrypha would be largely unchanged. The extra seven servants system would be implemented due to the unprecedented six servant team up in the fourth Holy Grail War instead of the original reason. But other than that, everything is the same.

* * *

  
Well that's pretty much it! The next chapter will be out when it's ready. I usually write the chapters early but then take my time revising them when I have free time. So there's not exactly any set schedule for when they're released. It might take a week, or it might take a month.

So with that said.…until we meet again!

  
-SomeBoredGuy  
Dying from grinding Gilfest  
September 16th,2020


End file.
